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THE OLD MISSION CHURCHES AND 
HISTORIC HOUSES OF CALIFORNIA 


Uniform With This Volume 


VILLAS OF FLORENCE 


AND TUSCANY 
By HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN 


300 Photographic Illustrations of the finest 

examples of Italian villas taken by the author 

and from angles that show them to the best 
advantage. 


“To its every reader, whether merely a lover of history 
and of the beautiful, or learned in the art of architecture, 
this volume of superb format and superb illustration 
will give a rare delight. More, it will enlarge im- 
measurably the individual point of view. For the 
villas selected for study, through historical association, 
plans, photographs and carefully detailed description, 
have each some architectural characteristic distinct 
from all the others, and each is analyzed and illustrated 
from every point of view. Particularly significant 
today is a well-ordered story of the architecture of 
the Florentine and Tuscan villas.””— Boston Transcript. 


SPANISH GARDENS AND 


PATIOS 


By MILDRED STAPLEY BYNE AND 
ARTHUR BYNE 


4 Color Plates; 175 Illustrations in halftone, 
with Measured Drawings of important 
gardens. 


“Too much praise cannot be given the authors of 
‘Spanish Gardens and Patios’ for the very beautiful 
photographs that lead us into such an enchanting world 
we can hardly bear to lay the book down. They show 
skill in arrangement and taste in knowledge in the 
views chosen. To those who have seen Spain this 
book brings delightful memories, to those who have 
not, a new vision of beauty. To the gardener seeking 
inspiration for pastures new, will appeal especially the 
accounts of modern gardens in Ronda and Seville.”-— 


Garden Club. 


“The gardens of those castles in Spain which Mr. and 
Mrs. Byne have described and illustrated are not lack- 
ing in beauty and romance. They are things of beauty 
in themselves and, in the excellent presentation given 
them in this book, they will afford the reader, whether 
he has traveled in Spain or not, much pleasure.””— 
International Studio. 








MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 


by Edward Stratton Holloway 


inting 


From the pa 


THE OLD MISSION CHURCHES 
AND HISTORIC HOUSES 
OF CALIFORNIA 


THEIR 
PUIG LORY SARC HI REC DURE 
ART AND. LORE 


BY 
REXFORD NEWCOMB, M.A., M. Arcu., A.I.A. 


PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR 
AND 217 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 
MEASURED DRAWINGS 
24 LINE DRAWINGS 


PHILADELPHIA t? LONDON 
JeBeLIPPINCGTIsCOM PANY 


1925 








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; COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
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FOREWORD 


HIS book, the result of six years’ field work in California 
and continuous research throughout a period of thirteen 
years, is intended for both the architect and the general 

reader. While a great deal has been written of the Colonial 
Architecture of our Atlantic Seaboard, little or no serious work 
has heretofore been spent upon the architectural expression of 
that interesting politico-social movement which resulted from 
Spanish occupation of the southwestern United States. The pres- 
ent work, it is hoped, will in a measure help to fill this great gap 
in the literature of American architecture. 

Rarely are Americans given an opportunity of examining 
very old architectural monuments without leaving the confines 
of their own land. This opportunity, however, the Hispanic 
Southwest, that broad area (now within the United States) 
which was originally explored and claimed by the priests and 
soldiers of Old Spain, does provide, for the remains of the build- 
ings erected by these pioneers are still to be seen in Texas, 
Arizona, New Mexico, and California. In the succeeding pages, 
the writer proposes a pilgrimage to the Hispanic shrines of 
California, the ruins of which recall for us, as nothing else can, 
that interesting political and religious movement of the late 
eighteenth century that brought our Pacific Coast for the first 
time into contact with European civilization. 

And what could be more alluring than a study of this touch 
of the old world within our own land; than a quest after an under- 
standing of that civilization which brought influences of most of 
the world’s previous art epochs to our shores? There is a charm— 
and a very alluring charm—about all things Spanish, and these 
old missions and homesteads, standing as concrete expressions of 
Spanish civilization within the confines of our country, must in 
the very nature of things be exceedingly interesting to those who 
seek the historic or the romantic. 


vi FOREWORD 


For the writer this study has been a pleasant one and one 
filled with fortunate and happy associations. Many a joyous day 
has been spent climbing over the old structures, tape in hand 
and note-pad handy, sketching or photographing in the patios 
and cloisters or poring over dim and musty records, either at the 
missions or in the archival repositories. While the writer lays 
no claim to having unearthed anything very new in a purely 
historical sense, he feels some measure of pride regarding the 
architectural finds. Restorations of several hitherto misunder- 
stood buildings he presents, laying before the reader his evidence, 
documentary or internal. He hopes that what is herewith set 
forth will inspire a real and sincere appreciation of the true 
character and spirit of early Californian architecture. 

For valuable information and assistance in various stages of 
the work the writer feels under deep obligation to Rev. Zephyrin 
Engelhardt, O.F.M., of Santa Barbara; Rev. St. John O'Sullivan 
of San Juan Capistrano; Rev. George Doyle, formerly of Pala; 
Father Buckler of Santa Inés; Rev. Raymond M. Mestres of 
Monterey; Rev. Joseph O’Reilly of San Juan Bautista; Mr. 
Arthur Benton, Architect of Los Angeles; Dr. Owen C. Coy of 
the California Historical Survey Commission; Mr. Prentice 
V.W. Duell of Cambridge, Massachusetts; to the curators of the 
Bancroft Collection of the University of California and of the 
Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain; to the staffs of 
the libraries of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pasadena, San 
Francisco, Sacramento (California State), and the University 
of [llinois; to Mr. L. S. Slevin of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Messrs. 
Putnam and Valentine, and Mr. Paul Edgar Murphy of Los 
Angeles for photographs; to Dr. Rockwell D. Hunt of the Uni- 
versity of Southern California for historical helps, suggestions, 
and inspiration; to Winsor Soule, Architect of Santa Barbara; 
to Dr. Frank E. Melvin of the University of Kansas, fellow- 
traveller in Spain, for enthusiasm and inspiration at a time when 


FOREWORD Vil 


the irksome details of mechanical preparation seemed heavy; 
and, finally, to that loyal band of former students of the author 
in California who have performed endless little duties in the way 
of mechanical services. 

Thanks are also due the Architectural Book Publishing 
Company, New York, for permission to reproduce several photo- 
graphs from the author’s “ Franciscan Mission Architecture ” 
and to Studio Limited of London for permission to reproduce a 
plate from the ‘‘ Old Houses in Holland.” 

REXFORD NEWCOMB 
University oF ILLINOIS 
JUNE I, 1925 





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CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 


CHAPTER 


If. 


XXI. 


XXII. 
XXIII. 


AXIV. 
XXV. 


PART I. ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUNDS 


THE SETTING—THE LAND OF CALIFORNIA 


THe Papres—FounpeERs OF THE Mission SYSTEM AND 
THE BUILDERS OF THE MISSIONS . 


THE RIsE oF THE MIssION SYSTEM . 


THE CULMINATION AND DECLINE OF THE Mission SYSTEM 
IN CALIFORNIA . 


LIFE AT THE Miss1ons—EcCLESIASTICAL . 
LIFE IN THE PROVINCE—SECULAR . 


PART II. THE OLD MISSIONS 


MaTERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION . 

Toe DEVELOPMENT oF Mission ARCHITECTURE 

Mission San DieEGo DE ALCALA . 

Mission San Luis Rey DE FRANcIA 

Tue ASISTENCIA OF SAN ANTONIO DE Pata . 

Mission SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO. 

Mission SAn GaBRIEL ARCANGEL . , 

Cuurcu or Our Lapy oF THE ANGELS, Los ANGELES 

Oxup Mitt oF Mission San GABRIEL . 

Mission San FERNANDO Rey DE Espana 

Mission SAN BUENAVENTURA 

Mission SANTA BARBARA . 

Mission Santa INEs Fe . 

Tue Mippie Missions—La Purisima ConcePcion, SAN 
Luis Osisepo, SAN Micuet ARCANGEL, SAN ANTONIO 
DE Papua, NuEsTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD. 

THe “CaTHEDRAL OF Ca.irorniA,” Mission San Car.os 
BoRROMEO OR CARMEL Missi0n . 


La Capitta REAL DE MONTEREY 
Mission SANTA CRUZ 


Mission San JuAN Bautista aa 

Tue Missions OF THE Bay oreiok ive fanies DE 
Asis, Santa Ciara DE Asis, SAN JosE DE GUADALUPE, 
San RaraeL ARCANGEL, SAN FRANCISCO DE SOLANO 


PAGE 


me CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 


PART III. THE HISTORIC HOUSES 


XXVI. THe EstupiL.Lo House, OLD Town, San DiEGo—*‘Ramona’s 


MARRIAGE: PLACE ie f= Dues ee ge ae 

XXVII. Tue Housts or Spanish SANTA BARBARA . . . . . « 318 

XXVIII. ‘Tue Otp Houses or MONTEREY . . 3°.) - Gee 
XXIX. Rancnyo CamULtos—tTHE Home-Piace or THE FaBLepD 

RAMONA 3 Bybee ap oe 

XXX. Moprern Hispanic ARCHITECTURE . (9. = (2) ee 

APPENDIX 

A. List or Missfons wits Dates. : |... . 3) es 

B. List oF SpanisH anD Mexican GOVERNORS .. .. . 367 

C. List or Papre-PRESIDENTES .9. ©. 3-2) 


INDEX 066 Gs ey a ates ide ev ee oe ated on ae 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mission San Gabriel Arcangel . . . . He sme frontispiece 
Map of the California Coast, Showing the Mine ; 
Mission San José de Aguayo, San Antonio, Texas. Tower 
Mission San Francisco de Espada, San Antonio, Texas . 
Mission San José de Aguayo, San Antonio, Texas. Doorway 
Padre Junipero Serra “ ; 

Mission San Diego de Alcala. eiece : 

Mission San Diego de Alcala. The Ruined Chen. : 
Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. The Church 

Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. Plan . 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. South Fachada 

Mission San Juan Capistrano. Bird’s Eye View . 

Mission San Juan Capistrano. Ruined Patio . 

Mission San Buenaventura. ‘Tower from Southeast . 
Mission San Buenaventura. ‘Tower and Fachada 

Mission San Buenaventura. Bell . he: 
Mission Santa Barbara. Fachada from the Fountain 
Mission San Juan Bautista. Front Corridor 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Patio 

Mission Santa Inés. The Church . 

Mission Santa Inés. Cloister 

Whssion San Juan Capistrano. Plan. ~. .. , eee ae) 
Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Ancient Palms and Olive Trees 
Mission Santa Barbara. Front Corridor 

Mission Santa Barbara. Old Stone Laundry Basin . 
Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Corridor 

Santa Barbara Presidio. Plan Re are 

Old Spanish Carreta, “Old Town”, San Diego . : 
Roof of Old Spanish Tiles, Mission San Juan Capistrano 
Adobe Arch, Mission San Miguel Arcangel . 

Adobe Construction, Mission San Luis Rey . : 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. Ancient Chimney of Tiles : 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. Cut-Stone Details in Church 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. Corner of Patio 

Mission Wooden Structural Details : 

Rude Truss, Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dol fea 


Ruined Interior, Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Carmel 


xl 


PAGE 


xi ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, Carmel. The Tower . 
Mission San Luis Rey. The Cemetery gaz 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. Section through Church 
Ancient Roman Aqueduct, Segovia, Spain 

Church of San Nicholas, Segovia, Spain . 

Courtyard, Escorial, near Madrid, Spain 

Doorway, Provincial Hospital, Madrid, Spain . 

Church of San Cajetan, Saragossa, Spain . 

Flying Buttress and Dome, Cathedral of Mexico City 
Balvanera Chapel, Church of San Francisco, Mexico City. packet 
Holy Well, Guadalupe, Mexico . 

The Cathedral, Mexico City . ae 

Mission San José de Aguayo, San Antonio, Texas Re 
Mission San Xavier del Bac, near Tucson, Arizona. Fachada 
Buttress, Mission San Buenaventura 

Buttress, Mission Santa Barbara 

Buttress, Mission Santa Inés 

Ruined Cloisters, Mission San Juan Capistrano 

Curved Gable, Gorinchem, Holland 

Curved Gables, Various Countries . 

Church of San Francisco, Guanajuato, Mexico 

Church of Santo Domingo, Querétaro, Mexico . 

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Before Restoration 

Mission San Francisco de Espada, San Antonio, Texas . 
Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Antonio, Texas 

Sanctuario de Guadalupe, Guadalajara, Mexico eee 
Mission San Juan Capistrano, Campanario and Present Chapel . 
Mission San Juan Capistrano, Southeast Corner of Patio 
Mission San Diego de Alcala. Plan 

Serra Cross, ‘‘Old Town’’, San Diego . 

Doorway, Mission San Diego de Alcala 

Bell, Mission San Diego de Alcala . : 

Restored Corner, Mission San Diego de Alcala 

Mission San Diego de Alcala, from an Old Painting . 

Church of Immaculate Conception, ‘“‘Old Town’’, San Diego . 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. Plan of Church 


Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. The Ruined Cloisters before a 


Restoration 


85 
85 
86 
gI 
gI 
95 
95 
25 
95 
96 
96 
97 
98 
98 

IOI 

IOI 

IOI 

IOI 

102 

102 

105 

105 

106 

107 

108 

108 

III 

Ee 

112 

118 

118 

118 

118 

122 

123 

129 


130 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. 


San Antonio de Pala. 
temper Decorations 


San Antonio de Pala. 
San Antonio de Pala. 
San Antonio de Pala. 
San Antonio de Pala. 
San Antonio de Pala. 


Sanctuary 


Plan=. 


Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Juan Capistrano. 


Mission San Juan Capistrano. 





Mission San Juan Capistrano. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 


Side Portal and Stairway 
Cupola and Roof 


Ruined Patio before Restoration . 


Cemetery and Mortuary Chapel 
Interior of Church . 

Side Altar and Pulpit . 

The Font . 

Mortuary Chapel 


before Obliteration of Ancient Dis- 


Campanario oe ee oS. 
View from Orchard Beare Restoration 
The Restored Church . 

Tower and Cemetery Gate 

The Ruined Sanctuary 
Broken Arches 

Sanctuary . 

Door of Sanctuary 

The Ruined Nave 

The Plaza . 

Diagonal Arch in Pitis 
Detail of Niche in Church 
The Font 

Plan . : 
Interior of Church : 

The Campanario 
Restored East Fachada 


Cathedral (formerly Mosque), Cordova, Spain . 


Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 


Church of Our Lady of the ae 


Restoration 


Church of Our Lady of ie eels ce Aveo 
Old Mill of Mission San Gabriel, near Pasadena. 
Old Mill of Mission San Gabriel, near Pasadena. 
Old Mill of Mission San Gabriel, near Pasadena. 


South Door of ahr 

East Fachada : 
South Fachada with Choir Seas 4 
Before the 


Los Angeles. 
Fachada 
Plans 


South Fachada . 
East Fachada 


Xlil 


190 
190 
195 
196 
196 


XIV ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Church . 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Ruined Interior 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Plan . oan 
Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. ‘The Mission-House . 
Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. General View . 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Fountain 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Doorway of Mission House 
Mission San Buenaventura. Fachada . . 

Mission San Buenaventura. Interior as it Now Appears . 


Mission San Buenaventura. Side of Church 





Mission San Buenaventura. Restoration of Canopied Pulpit 
Mission San Buenaventura. Doorway at Side of Church . 
Mission Santa Barbara. Plan ce 

Mission Santa Barbara. Fachada of Church 

Mission Santa Barbara. Monks’ Garden 

Plate X‘irom a) Spanish Vitruvise. 9.08 ae 

Mission Santa Barbara. Interior of Church 


Mission Santa Barbara. Front Corridor 





Mission Santa Barbara. Corridor Interior . 

Mission Santa Barbara. Doorway of Mission House 
Mission Santa Barbara. Fountain and Laundry Basin . 
Mission Santa Barbara. Fachada. 

Mission Santa Barbara. ‘Tower from the Cemetery . 
Mission Santa Inés. Plan : 

Mission Santa Inés. Interior of Church 

Mission La Purisima Concepcion 

Mission San Antonio de Padua . Ss ca ee 
Mission San Antonio de Padua. Interior of Church 
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Fachada 

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Plan . 

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. The Garden 
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Interior of Church 
Mission San Miguel Arcangel. Interior of Church 





Mission San Miguel Arcangel 
Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad f 
Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. The Restored Interior . 


Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. Interior of Church before Restoration 





Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. ‘The Tower 


201 
201 
202 
205 
205 
206 
206 
210 
210 
203 
214 
214 
219 
221 
221 
22% 
222 
225 
225 
225 
225 
226 
226 
231 
222 
239 
239 
242 
247 
247 
248 
248 
22 
253 
253 
261 
261 
263 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. Fachada of Church . 
Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. Stairway to the Tower 
Mission San Carlos de Borromeo. Doorway into the Chapel 
La Capilla Real, Monterey, now Church of San Carlos . 

La Capilla Real. Curved Gable eer. A 
La Capilla Real. Main Portal and Pavement of Whale eraiet: ‘ 
La Capilla Real. Side Portal 

Mission Santa Cruz . 

Castro House. San Juan 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Plan. 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Garden in Front of Gna 
Mission San Juan Bautista. Doorway 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Interior of Church . 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Font 

Mission San Juan Bautista. Pulpit 

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) . 

Mission San Francisco de Asis. Measured Drawing of Eathede: 
Mission Santa Clara de Asis. From an Old Painting 

Mission San José de Guadalupe . ie gs tee 
Asistencia San Rafael Arcangel. From an Old Painting 
Mission San Francisco de Solano. From an Old Painting 


Estudillo House, “Old Town”, San Diego, Ramona’s Marriage ikea 
Western Fachada a ee ae ie 2 gl fa a 


Fstudillo House. Corner Detail 

Estudillo House. The Patio . : 

Estudillo House. Oven and Kitchen . 

Estudillo House. Corridor 

Estudillo House. Interior of Kitchen rie Dn tae eee 
De la Guerra House, Santa Barbara. As it Looked Some Years Ago . 
De la Guerra House, Santa Barbara. The Patio from the Southeast . 
De la Guerra House, Santa Barbara. The Patio Looking North 
Arrellanes House, Santa Barbara 

Casa Carillo, Santa Barbara . Se tee at ale 

Casa Carillo, Santa Barbara. The Restored Patio 

29 East de la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara. Exterior 

29 East de la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara. The Patio 

29 East de la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara. The Patio from the Bee 
An Old Adobe House, Santa Barbara . 


XV1 ILLUSTRATIONS 


Gaspar Orena House, Montecito, near Santa Barbara 
Old Spanish Custom House, Monterey 

The Larkin House, Monterey 

‘House of the Four Winds”, Monterey 

Sherman Rose-Tree House, Monterey 

Old Whaling Station, Monterey : 

Old House at End of Polk Street on Harteclt Meares 


Renovated Adobe House, Polk and Hartnell Streets, Monterey . 


‘First Theatre in California,’ Monterey . 
The First Capitol of California, Monterey 
Robert Louis Stevenson House, Monterey 
Rancho Camilos. South Elevation 
Rancho Camilos. The Chapel Interior . 
Rancho Camiulos. South Veranda of the Ranch Hood 
Rancho Camilos. Old Cocina (Kitchen) 
Rancho Camilos. Fountain 

Rancho Camilos. Plan 

No. 306 Los-Olivos Street, Santa Bae 
No. 316 Los Olivos Street, Santa Barbara 
Residence of A. L. Garford, Pasadena 
Residence, Los Angeles 

Riverside Mission Inn, Riverside 

United States Post Office, Santa Barbara’ 
Arlington Hotel, Santa Barbara 


“Dias Dorados”’, Residence of Thomas H. eee Bate Hills 2 


California Building, San Diego Exposition, 1915 : 
W. T. Jefferson Residence, Pasadena . 
“Villa Alegre”, John Henry Meyer Residence, of Revit 


Garden Fachada, “Villa Alegre’, John Henry Meyer Residenc, 


San Marino 


Living Room of the W. T. isetherd Rendenee ce Bae : 
Patio at the Residence of George Washington Smith, Santa Barbara 


Stairway, “‘Dias Dorados’’, Ince Residence, Beverley Hills 
Patio, La Cabana Azul, Los Angeles. . 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


LINE DRAWINGS 


Spanish Ship . 

Spanish Padre 

San Diego Bay, 1782 

A Keystone from San Juan Capistrano 

A Keystone from San Juan Capistrano 

A Spanish-Californian Seforita . : 

Refectory Chimney, San Juan Capistrano 

Old Window, San Juan Capistrano 

Old Spanish Light House, Point Loma, San Rees 
Ancient Indian Frescoes, San Antonio de Pala . 
Ornament in Dome Over Altar, San Juan Capistrano 
Wrought Iron Cross, Campanario, San Gabriel Arcangel 
Keystone, San Gabriel . 


Old Belfry of Mission House, San Sette Rey se nepane : 


The Campanario, San Buenaventura . 
Franciscan Arms, Santa Barbara 
Patio, Santa Inés sh Oe 
Mission Arches, San Fernando eee i Serre 
Witch Tree, Monterey Coast 

Sea Gull and Surf 

San Francisco Bay Area : 
Old Spanish Oven, Casa Beedle ay. ore : 
Mission Tower, Santa Barbara . 


Rancho Camilos. 


XVil 


PAGE 
II 


23 

40 

51 

63 

72 

88 
113 
125 
143 
168 
187 
193 
198 
215 
228 
235 
255 
267 
278 
305 
317 
333 
352 


IF 





THE OLD MISSION CHURCHES AND 
HISTORIC HOUSES OF CALIFORNIA 


INTRODUCTION 
4 ae Spanish architecture of the Southwest merits our 


interest and study. It is among the few existing reminders 

in all the United States of that budding civilization which 
bade fair to become the dominant one in these regions, but which 
was blighted in its very ascendancy. Through its influence the 
United States, otherwise so predominantly Anglo-Saxon in its 
origins, ideals, and institutions, gains in a measure the color of 
that proud romantic race from the south of Europe, a people 
whose national make-up was cosmopolitan in the extreme. 

The other American colonists were from the north and west 
of Europe and brought with them strict standards of morality 
and the love for freedom in religion and government that life 
through centuries in those regions had engendered. The yearn- 
ings of their hearts were typified by the edifices that they reared 
in New England and along the Atlantic Seaboard. The Spanish, 
on the other hand, brought us all that warmth of color, that love 
for gold, adventure, and pleasure, that is common to their race. 

There is always romance in any quest, and the Spanish came 
out on a quest; the soldier on a quest for gold and an extension 
of the dominion; the priest on a quest for souls and likewise an 
extension of the Dominion—the Dominion of a Higher Lord 
and Monarch. So they came, the soldier and the priest; one 
carrying sword, the other the Cross, for with the Spanish the 
sword and the Cross have always gone hand in hand. There is 
romance in the conquests of the sword, specially if those con- 
quests lead to foreign lands, and there is something glorious in 
the conquests of the Cross. The soldier came with an adventurous 
spirit and with an expectation of victory both in arms and gold; 
the priest came with something of the same spirit, but he sought 
only a victory for God. It should be said, however, that the 
results of the quest of the soldier have long ago been forgotten 
and that all of the dominion that he added to the crown has long 
since passed from Spanish hands, while the quest of the priest 
will never be forgotten, although the pagan children whom he 


I 


2 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


taught are scattered or gone and the mission-houses that he 
raised are fast crumbling away. 

Through the glamour that time has cast over these early quests 
they seem very glorious to us now, for, even though the Indians 
of the California Coast were not difficult to subdue, there were 
great privations to be endured in the conquest of the Southwest, 
and many a good padre gave up his life that the Indian might 
know the Christ. 

But the quest for dominion is not ours and the search for 
souls is not ours. We are concerned with material things, with 
the edifices that these priests raised as monuments to their God 
and as homes for themselves and the charges in their care. And 
in them we shall find the spirit of those who reared them in 
simplicity and strength. It will be our pleasant task, first of all, 
briefly to learn of the land where they were built, with something 
of its geography, climate, and resources, for nowhere is the influ- 
ence of environment better illustrated than in the architecture of 
Spanish California. We shall recall the historical backgrounds 
and seek out an understanding of the life in these colonies of 
New Spain, the life of the soldier and settler as well as that of 
the ecclesiastic. Moreover we shall trace the style of architec- 
ture back to its precedents in Old Spain and learn how this dis- 
tinct and separate colonial variant is related to the larger family 
of the Spanish Renaissance. Most pleasant of all will be our 
little journeys to the old buildings themselves, where we may be 
able to discover the constructive principles employed by these 
pioneer architect-monks and colonists and evaluate the architec- 
tural merit of their work. And, finally, we shall talk of the value 
of it all for us of today. Could there be a pleasanter quest on any 
sea, in any foreign land? 


irosUnell 
ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUNDS 





CHAPTER | 


THE SETTING—THE LAND OF CALIFORNIA 


r AOO often in our minds is architecture divorced from its 
environment and thought of as separate and apart from 
that environment. This is a serious mistake and one that 

any sane critic or intelligent layman must view with real con- 
cern. As a matter of fact architecture is a perfect index to its 
backgrounds, material or spiritual, and expresses, as can no 
other art, the life and thought of a race or an age. It is insepa- 
rably linked with its material backgrounds, the possibilities and 
limitations of which control its range of expression. A consider- 
ation of the relationship of the material backgrounds of any 
architecture to that architecture itself will bear out the truth 
of this statement. Consequently he who would fully understand 
the spirit or message of any style or period of architecture should 
have some understanding not only of the history, genius, social 
and religious customs of the builders, but also of the geographic, 
geologic, and climatic conditions of the land of its inception. To 
this end it will be necessary, therefore, to preface any study of 
the artistic qualities of these interesting old structures of Cali- 
fornia by some attention to the material and human elements to 
which these qualities refer. 

Alta (Upper)* California of the Spanish days extended from 
San Diego Bay, on the south, to Sonoma, beyond San Francisco 
Bay, on the north. Indeed this extent included the farthest-flung 
outposts of Spanish civilization upon our west coast, although 
the Spanish generally claimed the territory northward to the 
Straits of Juan De Fuca, and, during the Russian occupation of 
Fort Ross, constantly protested that the subjects of the Czar were 
occupying the lands of a friendly power. 

This coast had been discovered in 1542 by Juan Rodriguez 
Cabrillo, a Portugese in Spanish service, and the first European 
to obtain a latitude north of Cedros Island (Lower California). 
Here in 1579 sailed also Francis Drake, almost the first represen- 


*Upper California, so called to distinguish it from Baja (Lower) California, the 
peninsula. 


5 


6 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


tative of England in the South Seas and indeed the first navigator, 
aside from the Spanish, to sail these waters. He touched at a 
point upon the present coast of California known as Drake’s Bay, 
taking possession of the country in the name of Queen Elizabeth. 
The presence of this English vessel in the Pacific, waters that to 
the Spanish mind clearly bordered Spanish possessions, followed 
by another, that of Thomas Cavendish, and the capture by 
Cavendish of the Santa Ana, a galleon bearing the riches of the 
Orient from the Philippines to Mexico, made very apparent to 
the Spanish the necessity of occupying the California Coast. 
Therefore, Viceroy Valesco contracted with Sebastian Vizcaino 
to make a new exploration and to occupy for Spain the 
Ilas California.’ 

About this time Valesco was succeeded by Gaspar de Zuniga, 
Count of Monterey, who duly ratified the contract, and the expe- 
dition set out from Acapulco in 1597. This expedition failed of 
its purpose in Baja California and did not reach Alta California 
at all. However, again in 1599, the King ordered a second 
expedition, the purpose of which was to find a safe harbor for 
the Manila galleons. This expedition, though more successful 
than the first, scarcely served to advance Spanish geographic 
knowledge beyond the point reached by Cabrillo some sixty 
years before. Since its observations were recorded, however, it 
made more familiar the notions regarding the coast northward 
to Cape Mendocino. The fleet, having reached San Diego Bay, 
November 10, 1602, left that port on November 20, touched 
Santa Catalina Island, passed the Santa Barbara Channel, and, 
on December 16, anchored in Monterey Bay. Early in 1603, 
Vizcaino went farther northward, entering Drake’s Bay, passing 
Cape Mendocino, and reaching a position in the vicinity of Cape 
Blanco in Oregon. 

The discovery of Monterey Bay was of course the noteworthy 
accomplishment of the expedition, since the bay was represented 
to be a good harbor and a satisfactory haven for the Manila 
galleons. Its charted location made it an objective up to the 
time of the discovery of San Francisco Bay in 1769. This expe- 
dition served to keep the interest in Spanish expansion along the 


? At the time the Californias, Baja and Alta, were thought to be islands. 


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8 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


west coast uppermost in the minds of the officials and mission- 
aries for the next hundred years. 

So much for the early attempts to approach Alta California. 
The permanent occupation of the peninsula of California took 
place in 1697, that of Alta California in 1769. The final occupa- 
tion of the country resulted from the same fears and desires 
that prompted the early explorations, namely: the mistrust of 
England’s intentions, the fear of Russian occupation, and the 
desire of owning a land of good harbors, such as Alta California 
was represented to be, for the protection of the Manila trade. 

California was not readily accessible from Mexico by land, 
although it was more so by sea, and for that reason did not, even 
during the flourishing period, occupy a great place in the Spanish 
colonial system. This remoteness from Mexico always proved a 
drawback to the country, as much time was wasted in getting 
word back and forth between Mexico City and Monterey, the 
capital of the province. This very inaccessibility also explains 
the scarcity of good artisans in the country, for it is well known 
that, whenever work of importance was to be executed, it was 
necessary to bring artisans from Mexico for the purpose. 

California, climatically, is a land of strange contrasts. She 
may be said to have at least four distinct types of climate, namely: 
the d/pine of the Sierran counties, the marine of the coast coun- 
ties; the Aumid of the northern counties and the arid of the desert 
counties. South of the Tehachepi Mountains the climate is 
semi-tropical and compares favorably with that of southern 
Spain. There are a great many local conditions affecting the 
climate, especially the temperature and precipitation, so that it 
is impossible to generalize widely regarding it. The marine area, 
which includes the mission territory, derives its low and even 
temperature from the ocean, the waters of which stand at from 
fifty-two to fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit the year round. 

California is a land of clear atmosphere and bright sunshine, 
the cloudless days averaging two hundred out of the three 
hundred and sixty-five. The rainy season, corresponding with 
winter in other states, is short, the actual rainfall being confined 
to a few days. The annual precipitation varies from eighty inches 
in the north to fifteen inches in the vicinity of Los Angeles, or less 


THE LAND OF CALIFORNIA 9 


than six inches in the southeastern counties, where cultivated 
vegetation depends entirely upon irrigation. The fact that the 
rainfall is confined to a few weeks in the winter makes the rivers, 
especially in the south, scarcely more than great washes for car- 
rying away any surplus rain-water. Thus they resemble the 
arroyos (rocky valleys) of old Spain. 

Compared with that of Mexico, the climate of California 1s 
less equable, yet perhaps more healthful, and corresponds to that 
of Spain herself; the climate of San Francisco, with its chill 
winds and fogs, being similar to that of Burgos; the climate of 
San Diego resembling that of Seville and Barcelona. Ina country 
with a climate resembling that of their homeland, it is not 
strange that the padres should have built in the general style of 
their native land. The effect of the sunshine is observed in the 
wide overhanging eaves and arcaded porticos of the old mission 
edifices, while the effect of the heavy rainfall is read in the well- 
constructed roofs. 

The location of a mission depended upon three considera- 
tions: an Indian population to minister unto, proximity to the sea, 
and an abundance of good land and water. With these pre- 
conditions, the mission chain, as developed between the years of 
1769 and 1776, extended from San Diego to San Francisco Bay, 
and, for some years, this area included the sum total of Spanish 
colonizing activities in Alta California. However, by 1823, this 
area, dotted with the mission churches, was extended to San 
Francisco Solano (Sonoma), thus including twenty-one mis- 
sions, together with several asistencias, the Presidio Chapel at 
Monterey, and the Plaza Church at Los Angeles. 

It is said that it was the intention of the padres to have the 
missions located a day’s journey (jornada) apart along the coast 
trail called “El Camino Real,” and seemingly the road was 
divided at about that interval. It must not be thought that El 
Camino Real (the Royal Road, less literally the King’s High- 
way) was a great well-kept highway, or even that it was laid out 
by survey. It was simply a route selected by the padres as the 
most direct and practical road between their mission establish- 
ments, and never had, even during the most flourishing period, 
any great amount of labor expended upon it. 


IO CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


The Indians whom the padres ministered unto in both Baja 
and Alta California were of an inferior stock and are not to 
be compared with the Indian stocks of New Mexico or Arizona. 
They are described as resembling the Esquimaux and as living 
in great families or “ rancherias.” In physique they are described 
as being below the average height of human beings, squat and 
ungainly, with large bodies but poorly developed limbs. The 
northern Indians were superior to the southern; the mountain- 
eers, to the plainsmen or coast-dwellers. 

Among the Alta Californians basketry was advanced in 
technical excellence, but pottery was practically undeveloped, 
while wood-carving was likewise almost unknown. Their homes 
consisted of grass, tule, or brush, or, in the most advanced com- 
munities, of bark covered with turf. The Santa Barbara Indians 
seem to have used a wooden canoe, but otherwise navigation was 
practically unknown. 

None of the California Indians tilled the soil. The hunting 
and snaring of deer and small game were practiced, and some 
fishing was carried on, but the diet of the Indian was almost 
entirely vegetable, consisting of numerous varieties of acorns, 
pine-nuts, grasses, roots, herbs, and berries.* 

The Californians were not warlike and consequently were 
easily brought under the influence of the missionaries. There 
is little record of physical resistance, their subjugation being 
accomplished more by persuasion than by force. Very few lives 
were actually lost through Indian attacks, the greater number of 
deaths among the padres being due to disease and exposure. The 
attack of Mission San Diego de Alcala in 1775, accompanied by 
the murder of Padre Jayme and two artisans, was perhaps the 
most serious of any that took place in Alta California. 

This, briefly, was the land and these the people whom the 
Franciscans came to Christianize. Scarcely could there have 
been a pleasanter field of endeavor, but surely the human material 
with which the padres were to work was anything but promising. 
It is interesting to speculate upon the outcome of these endeavors 
had the Franciscans been able to complete the work that they had 
set out todo. It was a noble undertaking, but, alas, one too soon 


* Handbook of American Indian; Part I, 191. 


EA ee AN Dao heeALLRORIN LA Il 


blighted by the hot greed of the politician, and may almost be 
said to have been doomed to failure from the beginning, 
through certain short-sighted features inherent in the Spanish 
colonial system. 





Spanish Ship 


CHAPTER II 


THE PADRES—FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 
AND THE BUILDERS OF THE MISSIONS 


r NHE missionary endeavors in America under Spanish 
guidance date from the papal bull of Alexander VI., 
dated May 3, 1493, which granted to Ferdinand and 

Isabella exclusive rights to the newly discovered lands west of 

the “ line of demarcation ” which ran about three hundred miles 

west of the Azores Islands. The Portuguese were to have sole 
possession of the newly discovered lands east of that line. In 

1494, however, the imaginary line was shifted about eight 

hundred miles westward, a provision which enabled the Portu- 

guese, in 1500, to claim the new land of Brazil, which they dis- 
covered at that time. 

In making this division the Pope’s injunction had been “ that 
worthy, God-fearing, learned, skilled, and experienced men” 
should be sent “in order to instruct the inhabitants in the 
Catholic faith.”” We have every reason to believe that the 
Catholic monarchs, especially Isabella, felt most seriously the 
Pope’s injunction. Yet the first priests who went out with the 
settling expeditions to America were only secular priests. They 
were described as ‘‘ greedy, lustful, and insolent’ and we may 
be sure that they were not so worthy as the members of the various 
missionary orders who succeeded them, especially when we recall 
that Cortés himself protested against the sending of seculars. 
However, before the time of Cortés, in 1510, a band of Domini- 
cans, under their vicar, Pedro de Cordova, had arrived in His- 
panola, and presently we find them through one of their number, 
Antonio de Montesino, protesting to the King regarding the 
treatment of the Indians. 

This protest was the beginning of several centuries of similar 
endeavors upon the part of missionaries in the new world. 
Indeed, Pedro de Cordova himself went to New Spain in 1512 
in behalf of the Indian, who, he maintained, should be segregated 
and treated as an individual element of the colonial population. 
He succeeded in obtaining from the King a license to labor with 
the Indians free from lay intervention, but, before he could carry 


I2 


13 





MISSION SAN JOSE DE AGUAYO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. 
TOWER 





MISSION SAN FRANCISCO DE ESPADA, SAN ANTONIO, 
TEXAS 


14 


MISSION SAN JOSE DE AGUAYO, SAN 


ANTONIO, TEXAS. 





DOORWAY 


FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM I5 


out his plan, he died (1521), leaving Montesino and Las Casas, 
a Spaniard newly arrived in the Indies, to carry forward the 
proposed scheme. Las Casas took charge of the project, but, 
instead of organizing an exclusive Indian colony, as had been 
proposed by Cordova, he established the usual mixed colony of 
Indians and Spaniards. Needless to say, the project was not a 
success and had failed by 1523. 

The Cordovan idea of Indian segregation was not dead, how- 
ever, and, in view of the failure of the encomienda,' gradually 
gained ground. In 1531 Licentiate Quiroga, a justice of the 
Audiencia (Court) in Mexico, advocated to the Council of the 
Indies ? that the Indian youth, trained in the monasteries, should 
be established in pueblos (villages), in charge of priests who 
might undertake their further training. By 1535 Las Casas had 
written a treatise upon the subject of Indian segregation and 
treatment, and, in 1537, set out for Guatemala to put his theories 
into practice. His triumph in Guatemala, in a very short time, 
proved the wisdom of his system, and, in the New Laws of 1543, 
the encomienda as an institution was abolished and provision for 
mission establishments outlined. This was the beginning of the 
mission system of New Spain. 


By 1535 there were over one hundred friars in New Spain, 
members principally of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. 


* The encomienda system was the first scheme of social organization that the Spaniards 
tried in the new world. The desire of the Spanish sovereign was to convert the Indian, 
to civilize him and to exploit him. In order to do this the lands in the new world, 
together with the Indians thereon, were distributed among Spanish settlers who held 
both lands and people in trust, or, as the Spaniard would say, in encomienda. The 
encomiendero (trustee) was held responsible, through conditions of his grant, to provide 
protection and effect the conversion and civilization of his charges. In turn he was 
allowed to exploit the labor of his wards, provided profits were shared with the King. 
To effect conversion and civilization, schools early became necessary and as a result 
friars were imported and monasteries were established. Around these monasteries, 
pueblos (towns) grew up. As time went on, however, the encomienderos, who were 
usually secular land-holders, failed to protect, convert, and civilize the Indian, but 
continued to exploit him, and as a result became virtual slave-holders. The encomienda 
system thus degenerated and became the disgrace of Spanish colonial administration. It 
was against these abuses that Cordova and Las Casas worked. ; 


? Council of the Indies (Consejo de Indias) : “ To facilitate the execution of the law 
and to enforce the adopted government, there was instituted the Council of the Indies. 
This council superintended all colonial affairs; and though it could not act without the 
sanction of the King, who met with it on stated occasions, it had a specific duty in the 
management of affairs, and great power in government. . . . The Council of the 
Indies was instituted by Ferdinand in the year 1511, but was perfected by Charles in 
the year 1524. Its jurisdiction extended to every department, religious, civil, military, 
and commercial.” Blackmar: Spanish Institutions of the Southwest; 51-52. 


16 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Frequent mention of members of these orders, and indeed docu- 
ments written by them, show their part in the exploration as well 
as in the Christianization of the country. Previous to 1590 these 
orders almost completely dominated the field in Mexico, the 
Franciscans taking by far the larger part in the spiritual conquest. 
In 1590 the Jesuits * entered the missionary field and undertook 
the Christianizing of the northern and western Mexican Indians. 
By 1594 six Jesuits joined the initial two fathers sent to the field 
and, although it was some years before a college was established 
at the capital, by 1600 the Jesuits had founded eight substantial 
churches, the edifices of which were, if we can rely upon the 
statement of Father Ribas, of “modest architectural preten- 
sions.” * In spite of Indian revolts in 1616 that cost the lives 
of eight Jesuits and two hundred Spaniards, the missionaries 
toiled on, and, by 1644, members of the order had established 
some thirty-five missions in Sinaloa and Sonora. The period 
of greatest Jesuit activity and influence was to take place, 
however, after the arrival in the mission field of Fathers Kino 
and Salvatierra. 

Father Eusebio Francisco Kino arrived in Mexico in 1681, 
where his labors were divided between the duties of missionary 
and royal cosmographer. He was enabled to go as cosmographer 
in 1683 to Baja California, where he stayed two years. During 
his stay in the peninsula he became very much attached to the 
country and proposed sometime to return and Christianize the 
Indians. His first field of endeavor as a missionary, however, lay 
among the Indians of northern Mexico and southern Arizona, 
where, from 1687 until 1697, he labored diligently for Christ 
and the Cross. During these years he kept always in mind the 
proposed Christianizing of Baja California, and became so 
enthusiastic upon the subject that he proposed to devote his 
lifetout 

Father Kino was not able, however, to carry out in person his 
proposed scheme for California, but he succeeded in converting 
the ardent Visitador-general, Father Juan Maria Salvatierra, to 
his plan, and in the superior officer he found a worthy advocate 


* Bancroft: North Mexican States and Texas; I, 1109. 
*“Bancroit: Opec: 1, Yet 


FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 17 


of his project. It was fortunate for California that so ardent 
an enthusiast was found, for, before the actual work of Christian- 
ization could proceed, Kino and Salvatierra had to meet many 
discouragements placed in the way of realization of the scheme. 

In the first place the Society of Jesus looked upon the scheme 
as impractical ; the Viceroy was opposed and the King indifferent. 
These discouragements, however, made Salvatierra only more 
determined to succeed, and at last he found in the person of 
Father Juan Ugarte, professor of philosophy in the Jesuit Col- 
lege of Mexico City, an enthusiast who consented to act as the 
financial agent of the enterprise in the capital. 

Father Ugarte was a man of great ability along economic 
lines, and his efforts were immediately bent toward the establish- 
ment of a fund for the financing of the missions in California. 
Many wealthy Mexicans came forward at this time with con- 
tributions, and this made possible, without further doubt, the 
projected foundations. This was the beginning of the Pious Fund 
of the Californias. 

Before the actual work could begin, however, a royal cédula 
(order) which forbade expeditions to California had to be over- 
come. But since the projected occupation was not to draw upon 
the royal treasury, a license was finally granted by Moctezuma, 
the Viceroy, empowering Kino and Salvatierra to undertake the 
Christianization of the Californias. ‘They were permitted to 
enlist and pay soldiers; make and unmake officials; in fact, to 
administer completely the affairs of the peninsula. 

The first foundation was the mother mission, named in honor 
of Our Lady of Loreto, and established October 25, 1697, a 
foundation made under some difficulties, due to Indian hostili- 
ties and the temporary loss of one of the vessels carrying the 
supplies. But discouragements in the way of loss of ships and 
supplies, Indian revolts, and epidemics were many times to make 
doubtful the wisdom of settlements in the peninsula, before 
actual accomplishment was attained. However, as time went on 
additions were made to the Pious Fund, and wise investment so 
increased it that, by 1735, we may say that the mission system was 
upon a firm financial basis.” Royal interest in the occupation 

*Ibid.; I, 457. 

2 


18 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


and royal funds for defence added to the general prosperity of 
the project. 

But this state of prosperity was not to continue for many 
years. Dissatisfaction with the Jesuit administration of affairs, 
a thing bound to result from the almost unlimited power granted 
to them, and perhaps an abuse of that power by the successors of 
Ugarte and Salvatierra, was apparent from the time that the 
missions began to succeed. Moreover, clouds were arising for 
the Jesuits throughout the Spanish domains, and the storm broke 
with the expulsion of the order from all Spanish lands, Mexico 
and California included, in 1767. So the labors of the Jesuits 
in the peninsula came to an end just as the mission system had 
been well established and the material difficulties conquered. 
The system of Indian treatment devised by them was adopted by 
the Franciscans who succeeded them, not only in the peninsula, 
but also in Alta California, the occupation of which was begun 
two years later. 

Of the early activities of the Franciscans, something has 
already been said. The first order to labor in the Mexican mis- 
sionary field, they had before 1590, the date at which the Jesuits 
entered the field, nine or ten missions in the provinces of Durango 
and Chihuahua. As early as 1581 the members of this order had 
been far north into New Mexico and had accompanied expedi- 
tions into the region around the present city of El Paso, Texas. 
Although the Franciscans were earlier in the field than the 
Jesuits, their quieter habits suffer somewhat by comparison with 
the militant and aggressive enthusiasm of the Jesuit representa- 
tives. Unfortunately the Franciscan annals between the years 
1600 and 1640 are extremely meagre. We can be sure, however, 
that the order was not so inactive as this lack of specific records 
would seem to indicate. This contention is supported by the fact 
that, in 1622, the authorities of the Franciscan College of Zaca- 
tecas found that 14,000 converts had already been made by the 
Franciscan friars in the various establishments.° 

Before 166s the Franciscans confined their efforts to eastern 
Durango and Chihuahua, but about 1670 they began a general 
expansion of their territory northwestward, and there was conse- 


Sibidee e334 


FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 19 


quently some friction between them and the Jesuits (1677) 
regarding boundaries of missionary effort. In Chihuahua the 
missions were always more or less open to the ravages of the 
wild Apaches, Tobosos, and other savage tribes, but the Francis- 
can zeal was of such quality as not to be deterred by such calami- 
ties, and by 1700 they had established ten or twelve new missions 
in the field to the north and east. 

Early in the eighteenth century we find them establishing 
settlements in Texas, where the Spanish desired to withstand 
French encroachment from the eastward. It was at this time 
that the missions in and around San Antonio were established. 
In June, 1767, the date of the Jesuit expulsion order in Mexico, 
the missions of Baja California were tendered by the Viceroy, 
Marquis de Croix, to the Franciscan College of San Fernando. 
The College accepted, and immediately twelve Franciscans set 
out for the peninsula. After some delay the padres arrived at 
the mother mission of Loreto, where Gaspar de Portola, the new 
governor of California, had preceded them. 

At first the Franciscans were put in charge of the church 
buildings and spiritual interests only, the civil authorities taking 
charge of the other mission properties, but, since it was impossi- 
ble to attract the natives without gifts of food and clothing, the 
population declined and it was soon found that the temporal and 
spiritual authority would have to be reunited if the missions 
were to succeed. Upon the arrival of Don José de Galvez, the 
Visitador-general, in July of 1768, all mission property was 
turned over to the Franciscans. 

It was not with matters in the peninsula, however, that 
Galvez was primarily concerned. He deemed the occupation of 
Alta California very important, especially at this time, and 
decided to begin at once the subjugation of that country, a proj- 
ect that included the establishment of a chain of missions along 
the coast. In this program he had a very ardent supporter in 
Padre Junipero Serra, president of the missions in the peninsula. 

In view of the proposed occupation of this new northern field 
by the Franciscans, the Dominicans, who had for some time 
wished to extend their labors into Baja California, had a claim 
upon the attention of the King and the Council of the Indies. 


20 





FR. JUNIPERO SERRA 


FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 21 


Although the authorities in Mexico were not so favorably dis- 
posed to the idea of taking the peninsular missions out of the 
hands of the Franciscans, a royal cédula‘ under date of April 
8, 1770, ordered a division of labors. 

This order gave the Dominicans charge of all establishments 
as far north as a point just south of San Diego. They were to be 
free to extend their establishments eastward and northeastward 
beyond the head of the Gulf of California, but the Franciscans 
were to have all the coast territory northward and northwest- 
ward without limit.* Thus the Franciscans pass from the some- 
what barren peninsula northward into our own more fertile 
California, and here begins the story of their work and the build- 
ing of that chain of buildings so dear to Californians of our 
own day. 

But before turning to the story of the establishment of the 
California missions, let us see what manner of men were these 
Franciscan padres. Perhaps there is no character in mission 
annals more interesting than Padre Junipero Serra, the first 
president of the missions of Alta California. In many ways his 
life of self-sacrifice ° resembles that of the great founder of his 
order, Saint Francis of Assisi. 

Born in the year of 1713, in the little town of Petra, Island of 
Majorca, he, early in youth, took an interest in the services and 
usages of the church. He seems early to have decided to become 
a Franciscan, the avowal of which purpose must have delighted 
his simple peasant parents, for we find them taking him to the 
convent at Palma in order that he might have a better chance to 
pursue his studies. Once at school, he distinguished himself in 
his classes, and, at the age of seventeen, was elected teacher of 
philosophy at the principal convent of Palma. 

The famous Lullian University of Palma soon took notice 
of the brilliant young teacher, and, while still a young man, he 
had conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Sacred The- 
ology and was appointed John Scotus Professor of Philosophy 
in the university. This chair he held until he left the pleasant 

" Ibid.; I, 704. 


Si bad.< 1.708, 
®Palou: Vida de Junipero Serra, George Wharton James Translation; 2. 


22 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


academic halls and cloisters for a missionary’s life in the 
new world. 

At the time the Franciscans were at the height of their power 
in New Spain, and, although poorly supported by the crown, 
the love for proselytizing had so taken hold of the religious 
orders of Spain that the undertaking of hazardous and perilous 
journeys to foreign countries to help make new Catholics seemed 
a sacred duty to the good Franciscan. Thus we may see how 
Padre Junipero, amid the happiest of surroundings and con- 
tributing much to the furtherance of religion in the classroom, 
should yearn for service in the foreign field. 

Arriving at Vera Cruz in 1749, Fray Junipero set out for 
Mexico City. Although carriage was provided, he, like Saint 
Francis of old, preferred to walk. The journey over awful roads, 
swampy valleys, and mountain heights, brought on an infection 
of the ankle and limb which became chronic as time went on. 
Pain, however, he seemed to welcome in order that what he 
called the “ beast in him” might be kept in abeyance. He is 
described as having been beautifully sweet in character, retiring, 
indifferent to worldly honor, an indefatigable worker, and a 
speaker of great earnestness and emotional power. In truth he 
was an eighteenth-century Francis, and, in contrast to the society 
in which he lived, seemed always more medieval than modern. 

For nine years he was a missionary among the Pame Indians 
in the mountainous regions of Sierra Gorda,’® putting those 
establishments upon a firm economic and spiritual foundation. 
His success in what before this time had been a failure won for 
him a high place in the minds of the Franciscan authorities in 
Mexico City. He was made president of the Sierra Gorda mis- 
sions, and, after making a fine record there, wished to go among 
the Apaches of Texas. When the Jesuits were expelled from 
Mexico, their nearly seven hundred members had to be replaced 
by religious from other orders, and Padre Junipero was sent to 
Baja California as president of these missions. 

It was just at this time that José de Galvez, the newly 
appointed Visitador-general, came to the peninsula to make ready 
for the occupation of Alta California, and he chose the able and 


* Paléu: Op. cit.; 23-41. 


FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 23 


experienced Junipero to head the spiritual forces. Thus in his 
fifty-third year, suffering untold agonies from his limbs and 
feet, fatigued by many weary miles of travel up and down the 
peninsula, Padre Junipero was at last to set out for the field of 
his most important labors. The same devotion to his work, the 
same indifference to pain, the same unconquerable spirit, that 
had always characterized him, urged him on through all the 
many hard years that were to come. The rest of his life was 
bound up with the establishment of the missions of Alta Cali- 
fornia, but that story has been reserved for a subsequent chapter. 
He died in the midst of plans for a further extension of the work 
that he had so well begun, passing away at Mission San Carlos, 
August 28, 1784, at an age of seventy-one years. His is the first 
name in California’s calendar of saints. 





Spanish Padre 


CEVA T GERakit 


THE RISE OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 


ITH the Spanish the priest and the soldier had always 
Wy gone hand in hand, therefore, when the Viceroy 
deemed it unwise to allow the coast of Alta California 
to lie longer unoccupied, and thus unprotected, the Visitador- 
general saw no reason to deviate from the usual procedure. The 
soldier would make California secure to the Spanish crown, the 
padre would make California secure in Spain’s religion. Armed 
with royal orders to occupy Alta California by the establishment 
of fortifications at San Diego and Monterey, Galvez took up the 
work of outfitting the expedition for Alta California. In Padre 
Serra he found not only an ardent enthusiast of the colonization 
scheme, but also a masterful executive, just the kind of a man to 
take up a great religious mission, and in Gaspar de Portola he 
found an able comandante to direct the expeditions. 

With Serra and Portola, Galvez planned the expeditions, 
two by land and two by sea, and arranged the details of occupa- 
tion. In addition to the fortifications (presidios) provided for 
at San Diego and Monterey, three missions were to be estab- 
lished: one at San Diego, one at Monterey, and a third, to be 
called San Buenaventura, midway between these two. Padre 
Serra, overjoyed at the bright prospect, hurried about making 
preparations for the trip while Galvez requisitioned the ships 
San Carlos and San Antonio for the sea parties, and ordered the 
construction of a third ship, the San José. 

Serra visited the missions up and down the peninsula, collect- 
ing church-bells, baptismal fonts, pictures of the Virgin, images, 
sacred utensils, and vestments. These church requisites, together 
with beef, grain, agricultural implements, seed, and other neces- 
sities, were gathered at La Paz, where, between December and 
February, the San Carlos was put into repair and loaded. On the 
ninth of February, 1769, the ship, under Captain Don Vicente 
Vila, and crew, with Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages, later governor 
of California (1782-91), and twenty-five Catlan volunteers, 
Costanso, the engineer, Don Pedro Prat, surgeon of the royal 
army, and Padre Parron in spiritual charge, set sail for San 


24 


THE RISE OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 25 


Diego. On February fifteenth, the San Antonio, similarly out- 
fitted with provisions and under the command of Juan Pérez, 
with Padres Juan Vizcaino and Francisco Gomez, carpenters, 
blacksmiths, and crew, set sail. 

The land expeditions now remained to be outfitted. Of the 
first Captain Rivera y Moncada, long comandante of the Presidio 
of Loreto, was in charge, and it was his business, as he proceeded 
northward, to collect cattle and horses and other supplies that 
could be spared by the missions of Baja California. Padre Juan 
Crespi accompanied this expedition. Portola had charge of the 
second land division, and with him Padre Serra, suffering seri- 
ously from his injured leg and in a run-down condition, due to 
his heavy labors during the outfitting, started for his new Land 
of Promise. 

It was a sad spectacle that greeted Padre Serra when, in July, 
he arrived at San Diego. To be sure all four of the expeditions 
had arrived, but the sea parties had suffered so terrifically from 
scurvy that the crew of the San Carlos was almost entirely 
wiped out. Doctor Prat and Captain Rivera were busy with 
the sick and dying. A camp had been built, but the fearful plague 
had so completely reduced the parties in numbers, and the morale 
of the survivors was so completely broken, that the Padre had 
a difficult task to convince them that there was anything hope- 
ful in the fact that they had arrived at San Diego. To him, how- 
ever, San Diego, with her lovely, land-locked bay, the ‘‘ Harbor 
of the Sun,” appeared very beautiful, and he at once began prep- 
arations for the founding of the first mission of Alta California, 
that of San Diego de Alcala, the event taking place on July 16, 
the day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross.’ 

But darker days were yettocome. The Indians, who appeared 
at first as only simple, curious, and misguided children, began 
to exhibit their thieving propensities, with the result that the 
Spaniards lost practically everything that was movable, even to 
clothing and the sails from the San Carlos. Fortunately the 
Indians fought shy of the food of the newcomers, believing that 
it had poisoned the Spaniards, many of whom were still deathly 


*Celebrated in memory of the victory of the Christians over the Moors, July 16, 
fence alot.) (Op) cite) 70, 


26 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


sick. Their thieving habits, from the first extremely annoying, 
came to a climax when, in August, they attacked the camp with 
bow and arrow, javelin and sword, and took everything they 
could lay hands on, even to the covers upon the sick. 

The camp was in no condition to stand such an attack. 
Portola, with Padres Gomez and Crespi, most of the soldiers 
and all of the officers, had gone north in search of Monterey. 
Eight soldiers, together with Padre Junipero, two other friars, 
and Doctor Prat, were left to care for and guard the recovering 
plague victims. In spite of small numbers, however, the guard 
was able finally, by virtue of their superior arms, to put the 
Indians to flight, but only after a hard fight. One Spaniard 
was killed, and three others were wounded, but the day had 
been saved. 

Meanwhile death made further inroads upon the miserable 
sick, and before long only half the number left at San Diego 
remained alive. Moreover, Portola presently returned from the 
north dejected and discouraged by what he thought to be failure, 
for he had, as far as he knew, missed the Bay of Monterey. He 
had pressed on until Point Reyes could be seen, but this could 
not be gained because of an intervening bay (San Francisco 
Bay), which up to this time had never been viewed by Europeans. 
He had turned back, baffled and discouraged. Half his men, use- 
less with scurvy, had to be carried on litters, strapped to the 
backs of the mules. He nerved himself, however, to endure his 
disappointment, because he believed that at San Diego he would 
find the garrison recovered in health, and reinforced by the sup- 
plies and help that Padre Junipero had summoned from Mexico. 
Imagine his distress when, upon his return with his half-dead 
men, he found the sadder plight of the force at San Diego. 

When the full force of the situation dawned upon him, he 
was not slow to act. He was, after all, a soldier, trained to action. 
The responsibility for the expedition was his. He saw that, if he 
were to save the miserable few that remained, he should retrace 
steps to Mexico. Therefore he issued orders that all should board 
the San Carlos and set sail by the feast of Saint Joseph (March 
19). It were better to admit defeat, and make the best of it, than 
to starve to death in a strange land, he reasoned. 





MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA, FACHADA 





MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA. THE RUINED CHURCH 


28 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


But he had failed to take into account the gentle Padre or 
to consult him concerning his desire in the matter, and in the old 
priest he found a staunch objector to the plan. Portola now laid 
the whole situation before Serra, emphasizing the great dangers 
that attended a further delay, and pointing out the risk from a 
military standpoint. But Padre Junipero would not yield. At last 
Portola, impatient with the delay, determined to carry out his 
plan, when the Father Serra made a plea for a novena—a nine 
days’ devotion—to Saint Joseph. If the supply-ship did not come, 
then Portola and his party should return to Mexico. So gentle, 
yet so determined, was his plea, that the Comandante decided to 
humor him, and granted his request. 

They prayed out the nine days, but no ship appeared, and, 
early upon the morning of the last day, the camp was busy with 
the preparations for the march, which was to begin the following 
morning.” But Padre Junipero was nowhere to be found. A 
search was instituted and at length they found him, upon that 
eminence now known as Presidio Hill. There he was upon 
bended knee, facing the great waters, looking out over the low 
crescent that encircles the “ Harbor of the Sun.” With crucifix 
aloft, he prayed to high Heaven “ for a ship, a ship to save the 
starving men of San Diego de Alcala.” The lone, gaunt figure in 
sombre monk’s cloth, silhouetted against the sky, was indeed a 
figure to move even the roughest of men. They pitied him, but 
they reasoned against that pity. They felt that no ship would 
come; something had happened; no ship could come. He was 
like a babe reaching for a star, some said, as they shook their 
heads and hurried the preparations for the journey homeward. 
There was nothing to do but let him pray on until sunset, then 
they would gently carry him aboard and commend him to the 
care of Captain Vila. 

So the day wore on; the camp was broken; the final prepara- 
tions for the departure were made; the lowering sun serving 
only more clearly to embroider in light the praying figure upon 

7 Captain Vila, who disagreed with Portola’s plan to Boation the country, decided to 
await at San Diego the relief-ship San Antonio, which he was sure would arrive, and 
accompany that vessel in quest of the Bay of Monterey. Padres Serra and Crespi would 


board the San Carlos and await with Vila. This decision consequently necessitated the 
return of Portola by land. 


THRO RISE OF THE MISSION: SYSTEM 29 


the hill. At last the sun swept behind Point Loma, bathing the 
bay in purple shadow, when suddenly there was a cry of “ A sail, 
look, a sail! ’’ All hands rushed to the shore to see the trim sil- 
houette of a ship pass the entrance of the harbor. A miracle had 
come to pass, and out of the southern sea had come a ship, at the 
last moment of the last hour. Surely Padre Junipero’s prayer 
had been answered and California had been saved! 

But darkness intervened before the ship could make the 
harbor, and the camp quieted for the night with the expectation 
of seeing the San Antonio safe inside by early morning. The 
dawn brought, however, no realization of any such dream. The 
transport was not in the harbor, but the fact that a sail had been 
seen by all on the previous evening was sufficient proof that aid 
was near. It was not until four days later, however, that the 
San Antonio sailed into the bay with her cargo of provisions and 
a new crew for the San Carlos. Nine months had elapsed since 
she had left the colony of San Diego to seek supplies in Mexico, 
and those nine months were the darkest days in the history of the 
whole colonizing project. 

The San Antonio had sailed past San Diego, for Captain 
Pérez had received orders in Mexico to go directly to Monterey 
to support the Portola settlement, which the Visitador-general 
was confident would be established by this time. The fact that 
he had lost his anchor, and had learned from the natives along 
the Santa Barbara Channel, where he put in for fresh water, 
that the Portola party had returned south, caused Captain Pérez 
to abandon his plan to reach Monterey Bay and to return to 
San Diego. Thus he came in time to prevent the abandonment 
of San Diego and California. The dispatches to Governor 
Portola from the Visitador-general and the Viceroy put new life 
into that official, and, with plenty of provisions and new hope, the 
question of abandonment was never reopened. 

Preparations were now perfected for a second trip north- 
ward in search of Monterey, which Portola had really found 
upon his first trip, but failed to recognize because it did not 
coincide with his idea of the far-famed bay, the natural attrac- 
tiveness and practical advantages of which had been greatly 
magnified by former explorers. Serra was of the opinion, how- 


30 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


ever, that Portola had arrived at Monterey upon the previous 
trip, and indeed it turned out that Portola had erected a wooden 
cross upon the shore of the very bay that he was seeking. 

Padre Junipero and Doctor Prat went north with Captain 
Pérez on board the San Antonio, while Lieutenant Fages and 
Portola, with Padre Crespi and the soldiers, went by land. The 
sea expedition was accomplished very slowly, so tardily, in fact, 
that the Portola party had already been in waiting eight days 
when the San Antonio put into the Bay of Monterey. Portola, 
Crespi, Fages, and the soldiers were lined up on the beach to 
greet the Padre-presidente,* and a royal welcome it was, a spec- 
tacle far different from that which greeted the Padre upon his 
arrival at San Diego. 

The first duty was to erect a shelter of boughs for worship. 
This accomplished, the Padre-presidente, on June 3, 1770, con- 
secrated the ground with holy water, after which came the 
chanting of the mass, a salute from the cannon, and the formal 
proclamation of the possession of the land, in the name of Carlos 
III. of Spain, by Don Gaspar. The selection of locations for 
the presidio and Mission San Carlos was next in order. This, 
together with the survey of the site, was left to Miguel Costanso, 
the engineer, and within a short time a number of huts, one of 
which was consecrated as the church, and a stockade of logs, 
surrounding the whole group, were completed. 

As soon as the presidio structures and the mission were put 
in order and occupied, Padre Junipero began his explorations of 
the surrounding country in order that he might begin the Chris- 
tianization of the Indians. He soon discovered, however, that, 
if his work were to be effective, his mission-house would have 
to be removed from the immediate influence of the soldiers, who, 
tiring of the incessant guard-mount, the polishing of unused 
weapons, and the intense stillness of the place, spent their time in 
lustful pursuit of the native women, and in gambling and 
quarrelling with the native men. Finally Padre Junipero 
selected as a site for his mission a situation on the shores of the 
beautiful Carmel Bay, south of Monterey, which had been 


* Padre-presidente, official title of Padre Serra, President of the Missions of 
Alta California. 


31 


iia 





_ Courtesy of Architectural Book Pub. Co 





MISSION SAN CARLOS DE BORROMEO. THE CHURCH 





Note: Tre Pian of Cavecit on Basis of & 
Svevey By THE AvTHOR -CONJECTVRAL 
Portions Based Veon Existing Rvins-OLD 
ProToanarns AND GOVERNMENT SVRVEYS~ 


S KN- CARLOS-BORROMEO~ 


Ne aE RS, ls 
GM Wares oF Existine Caurcee 
IM Conrectvrac Patio... 
ann Mission-House WALLS. 





VdVHOVA HLOOS “IADNYOUV TAIYAVSD NVS NOISSIN 





iiteh DS PaOUe HiiavilsslONes YS TEM 33 


named by Vizcaino for that ancient Carmel of the Holy Land. 
This beautiful spot, now the home of the famous artist colony, 
was soon the site of busy building operations, the aged priest 
himself directing the felling of trees and the planning of 
the structures. 

In May, 1771, the San Antonio, returning from Mexico, 
brought ten Franciscans to assist the Padre-presidente with the 
establishment of the chain of missions that he now proposed along 
the coast, between San Diego and Monterey. They carried many 
gifts to the churches yet unlocated and unconsecrated, gifts in 
the way of bells, sacred vessels, vestments and images, tools 
and utensils. 

The Presidente, overjoyed at the bright prospect, immediately 
began plans for the establishment of the missions for which he 
had supplies and priests. After arranging for two priests to go to 
San Diego to relieve the padres there, he appointed two ministers 
to Mission San Gabriel, which had been ordered established at 
royal expense, two to San Buenaventura, and started out with 
two padres and an escolta (escort) to locate and consecrate a 
third mission to be called San Antonio de Padua. 

This mission was located some twenty-five leagues southeast 
of San Carlos (Carmel) in a beautiful little oak-studded glen 
(Canada de los Robles) of the Santa Lucia Mountains, one of the 
most beautiful situations in all California. Here, on the 14th of 
July, 1771, Padre Serra made the foundation, placing Padres 
Miguel Pieras and Buenaventura Sitjar in charge. A cross of 
wood was erected and a hut of boughs provided in which Padre 
Junipero celebrated mass. The Indians seemed very gentle and 
made friends with the Spaniards, even helping with the erection 
of the buildings. 

The work of founding, now well begun, continued with occa- 
sional interruptions and discouragements. Padres Pedro Benito 
Cambon and Angel Fernandez de la Somera, having received 
instructions at Monterey in May, sailed south in July, and on 
August 6, 1771, went north from San Diego with an escolta of 
ten soldiers to establish the Mission of San Gabriel Arcangel, 
the formal founding of which took place September 8. Padre 
Serra did not visit San Gabriel until the autumn of the next year, 
when he went south to hasten the supplies from Mexico which 


3 


34 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


lay aboard the transports in San Diego Bay. On his way south 
he established Mission San Luis Obispo, accomplishing the 
founding upon September 1, 1772, and placing Padres José 
Cavaller and Domingo Juncosa in charge. 

Arriving at San Gabriel, Father Junipero was delighted with 
the start that had been made. He did not tarry long, however, 
but pressed on to San Diego in order to speed up the supplies 
so sorely needed by the northern establishments. Accomplishing 
his errand, the old Padre now turned his attention to missionary 
affairs at San Diego. But news had come of the return to Spain 
of the Visitador-general and the Viceroy, both of whom had 
always been keen supporters of the Padre-presidente and his 
work. This news, the difficulties which Padre Junipero had 
already encountered in the haughty and insolent Comandante 
Fages, and the rumored intention of the abandonment of the San 
Blas naval station, all served to urge the Padre-presidente to go 
on to Mexico to consult the officials, religious and civil, regard- 
ing the future of his work in Alta California. 

As the San Carlos was just ready to return to Mexico, Padre 
Junipero decided to go south as she sailed, which she did on 
October 20, arriving at San Blas a fortnight later. The old 
priest’s journey to Mexico was a long and arduous task and twice 
upon the way he fell sick and had last sacraments administered. 
He arrived at Mexico City, however, in February of the next 
year, where he was received by the new Viceroy, Antonio Maria 
Bucaréli, a man of energy, good sense, and ability. The simple, 
refined, well-informed, and enthusiastic Junipero evidently 
impressed the Viceroy, for he asked Father Serra to prepare a 
list of the suggestions for the conduct of the California settle- 
ments. This the Padre-presidente did, formulating some thirty- 
two recommendations, which he presented to the Viceroy with 
a request for immediate action. The recommendations were so 
pertinent, thorough-going, and complete, that the Viceroy saw 
that they could not be acted upon at once and referred the matter 
to a “‘ Council of War and State,” which body consumed some 
six months in debate but acted most favorably upon the many 
sections of the report. 

Among other things, the Padre had asked for an increase in 


lo PaOieebe re MISSIONS SYS TEM 35 


the military force, the establishment of land routes into Cali- 
fornia, the establishment of regular transport service, the reten- 
tion of the naval base at San Blas, the sending of artisans to teach 
the Indians, settlers with women and children, a physician to 
succeed Doctor Prat, who had died insane, and the removal of 
Lieutenant Fages as comandante. Several of the suggestions 
were speedily acted upon, with the result that Captain Rivera y 
Moncada was made comandante at once, Captain Anza was sent 
to open an overland route from Sonora to Mission San Gabriel, 
and the naval station of San Blas was reinforced. 

Upon his return to Alta California, Padre Serra landed at 
San Diego (March 13, 1774) and proceeded up the coast on foot. 
Arriving at Monterey, he once more took up the work of adminis- 
tration, which had been carried on, in his absence, by Padre 
Palou. After his return, Padre Serra’s first important work was 
the foundation of Mission San Juan Capistrano, which he accom- 
plished in November, 1776. On October 30, 1775, Padre Fermin 
Francisco de Lasuén, accompanied by Lieutenant José Francisco 
de Ortega and a few soldiers, had attempted a foundation here. 
The establishment had only been celebrated, however, when news 
of an Indian uprising at San Diego, accompanied by the destruc- 
tion of the buildings and the murder of Padre Luis Jayme, bade 
Lieutenant Ortega and the soldiers return to San Diego. 

While the foundation of San Juan Capistrano was taking 
place in the south, the presidio and mission of San Francisco de 
Asis were being established in the north. Captain Anza, who 
had opened the route from northern Mexico across southern 
Arizona and into California, had arrived in January, 1776, with 
the first party of colonists, whom the Viceroy, in accordance with 
Padre Junipero’s suggestion, had ordered recruited in Sonora 
and Sinaloa. In the spring the Captain selected a site for the 
future presidio upon the peninsula between the Pacific and the 
Bay of Saint Francis, and here on July 26, a few days after 
the Declaration of Independence was given to the world in the 
Thirteen Colonies, the colony of Saint Francis, out on the west- 
ern rim of the continent, was pitching its camp upon the swampy 
site of the future metropolis of the Pacific. On September 17 
the presidio was begun, the founding of the mission following 


36 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


on October 9, with Padres Francisco Palou and Pedro Benito 
Cambon installed as resident ministers. 

The establishment of the presidio and mission of San Fran- 
cisco, although it seemed a triumph for the forces that were 
slowly but surely winning an empire from the wilderness, dis- 
closed serious difficulties ahead for the padres. Rivera developed 
a considerable antagonism to the foundation of San Francisco 
and absolutely refused to permit the restoration of the ruined 
San Diego Mission. Moreover, at San Diego he had entered 
the church, temporarily established in a warehouse, to apprehend 
one of the repentant Indian culprits who had returned to the 
mission. As a result of this violation of a sacred shrine he was 
promptly excommunicated by Padre Fuster. This open break 
awoke the padres to a realization of the antagonism they would 
encounter in the new Comandante. It was the same old story; 
it seemed impossible to get a military commander for the prov- 
ince who knew how to treat the Indian or how to go about the 
upbuilding of the colony. 

The excommunication evidently bore heavily upon the mind 
of the Comandante for he sought absolution at the hands of the 
Padre-presidente. Absolution was not forthcoming, however, 
without some amends on his part, and this fact only served to 
throw him into a disagreeable frame of mind and place him at 
variance with everything and everybody. He so completely dis- 
gusted Captain Anza that when that official returned to Mexico 
he took occasion to send a full report to the Viceroy regarding 
the unfortunate situation in California. 

But Padre Junipero had already informed the Viceroy, who 
ordered the Comandante to proceed with the rebuilding of San 
Diego Mission and the establishment of San Juan Capistrano. 
Captain Rivera, awakened from his fit of madness by the orders 
of the Viceroy, now hurried about the business of his command 
with all haste. But in Mexico his career had been measured out 
for him, and in February, 1777, Felipe de Neve, who as Lieuten- 
ant-governor of Baja California had been promoted to governor- 
ship of the two Californias, arrived, announcing the removal of 
the capital from Loreto, in the peninsula, to Monterey, and the 
delegating of Rivera to Loreto as Lieutenant-governor. The 
removal of the capital to Monterey was the first official recogni- 


a7. 





MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, BIRD’S-EYE VIEW 





MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, RUINED PATIO 





TOWER FROM SOUTHEAST TOWER AND FACHADA 





BELL 
MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 


PHPeRI SE Ob er eNISSION SYSTEM 39 


tion given by Carlos III. that he considered Alta California 
more than a mere outpost of his realm. 

The new Governor came to Monterey with some preconceived 
notions regarding priests and mission administration, having 
been involved, at the time of his promotion, in a very serious 
difficulty with the Dominicans of the peninsula. As he came 
north, he inspected all the missions along the way, and was 
impressed with conditions which contrasted markedly with those 
in Baja California. That he was impressed with Padre Junipero’s 
wisdom is attested by the fact that he endorsed the Padre-presi- 
dente’s proposed plan for the missions on the Santa Barbara 
Channel and wrote to Mexico advocating the establishment, not 
only of the missions, but also of a presidio upon the Channel. 

He immediately interested himself in the defences of the 
province and spent considerable time and expense in rebuilding 
the presidio of Monterey. To his credit falls the establishment 
of the first pueblo of the province, San José de Guadalupe, the 
beginning of the modern garden-city of San José. The pueblo 
was located about midway between presidios Monterey and San 
Francisco, and just east of Mission Santa Clara de Asis, which 
Padre Serra had established in January, just prior to the arrival 
of the new Governor. The site was one of the most fertile in all 
California and was accessible by water from the embarcadero 
(landing) at the southern extremity of San Francisco Bay. 

Difficulties were soon to arise, however, for the Governor, 
disappointed with the prominence of the Church in the province 
and disgusted at the second place to which the military and state 
affairs had been relegated, promulgated a reglamento (1781), 
which, in addition to proposing improvement in the military 
defences and provincial government, also provided for the taking 
of mission temporal affairs from the hands of the padres. More- 
over, he questioned the Padre-presidente’s authority to perform 
the rites of confirmation.* Notwithstanding the difficulties and 

*On July 16, 1774, Pope Clement XIV. granted a concession that provided authority 
for the Reverend Father Prefect of Missions and one of the friars in each of the four 
colleges to confirm the converts for a period of ten years. The concession was pre- 
sented to the Royal Council of Madrid, ratified, and passed on to the Viceroy and Royal 
Audiencia of Mexico. It was then handed to the Reverend Father Prefect, who named 


Padre Junipero as representative of the Missions of the College of San Fernando. Padre 
Serra received his authority (document) “the latter part of June, 1778.” 


40 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


hard feelings that grew out of these incidents, the work of foun- 
dation went on. The pueblo of Los Angeles was established 
September 4, 1781, and on March 31, 1782, Mission San Buena- 
ventura, so long proposed, was established at royal expense, Padre 
Pedro Benito Cambon being installed as resident pastor. 

San Buenaventura was the last mission established during 
the Padre Serra’s term of office. He had established nine mis- 
sions, in which over four thousand neophytes were quietly 
attempting to become law-abiding and self-supporting citizens. 
The temporalities flourished in every establishment; new struc- 
tures were arising; thousands of cattle grazed on the mission 
pastures, and grain, garden-produce, and fruit were raised in 
abundance. He had witnessed the establishment of four presi- 
dios that would protect his cherished cordon of missions and had 
seen his recommendations to the Viceroy take effect in the estab- 
lishment of the pueblos of San José and Los Angeles. The 
success of the whole project was secure; the backbone of an 
empire had been laid out; the old Padre’s work was complete. 





San Diego Bay—1782 


CHAPTER IV 


THE CULMINATION AND DECLINE OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 


F THE rise of the mission system coincides in time with the 
career of the saintly Serra, the culmination may indeed be 
said to coincide with the administration of his successor, 

Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuén, who, in 1785,’ after a brief 
rule by Serra’s beloved pupil Palou, took up the reins of admin- 
istration and guided the destinies of the mission system until his 
death in 1803. That the new presidente was a man well qualified 
to carry on the work so well begun by Padre Serra cannot be 
questioned. Indeed he has been considered by modern historians, 
especially Bancroft, as the superior of Padre Junipero himself. 
He entered upon his work with enthusiasm and immediately set 
about the business of the foundation of Mission Santa Barbara, 
which the venerable Serra had so much desired to see accom- 
plished before his death. The new mission was situated some 
nine leagues north of San Buenaventura and half a league north- 
west of the Presidio of Santa Barbara. Here on December 4, 
1786, Padre Lasuén, assisted by Padres Antonio Paterna and 
Cristobal Oramas, blessed the site and formally dedicated 
the mission. 

In the meantime, Governor Neve had been promoted to the 
position of Inspector-general of the Provincias Internas? and 
the haughty Fages returned as governor. He was no more kindly 
disposed toward the new Padre-presidente than he had been 
toward the former, and placed various obstacles in the way of 
the new establishments. These discouragements had long 
delayed the founding of Mission Santa Barbara and served, like- 
wise, to delay the establishment of the proposed Mission La 

* Padre Lasuén was a native of Victoria, province of Alava, Spain. We know 
little of his life before he entered the California mission field. He arrived in Baja 
California in 1768, where he served at Missions San Francisco de Borja, Loreto, and 
Velicata, but came to Alta California in 1773, serving at San Gabriel, San Juan Capis- 
trano, and San Diego before his election to the mission presidency. After his election to 
this position his official residence was San Carlos, but he spent much of his time in the 
field and in residence at the various missions. Padre Lasuén died at San Carlos June 
26, 1803, and was buried “in a stone sepulchre at the foot of the altar upon the Gospel 
side of the Mission Church.” His name is perpetuated in the name of Point Fermin, 
south of Los Angeles. 


? Provincias Internas: a portion of Mexico embracing the northern provinces of 
Neuva Vizcaya, Coahuila, Texas, New Mexico, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Californias. 


4I 


42 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Purisima Concepcion, which, although its site had long been 
selected, was not founded until December 8, 1787. 

A period of nearly four years now intervened before the 
establishment of further missions, and it was not until August 28, 
1791, that Mission Santa Cruz was established, to be followed in 
October of the same year by Mission Nuestra Sonora de la 
Soledad, both foundations coming, be it noticed, after the resig- 
nation of Governor Fages, which took place in 1790. 

Fages was succeeded by José Antonio Romeu, who, although 
he was nominally governor for two years, was actually so ill most 
of the time that he can be said to have acted as governor scarcely 
more than six months. He died August 9, 1792, and was suc- 
ceeded by José Joaquin de Arrillaga, who served, ad interim, 
from 1792 until 1794, pending the appointment of a perma- 
nent governor. 

In 1794 the new governor, Diego de Borica, accompanied by 
his wife and daughter, arrived. He contrasted markedly with 
any of the former officials. Of the best of the old Spanish blood, 
naturally sagacious, stern, yet carrying a strain of that chivalry 
so much admired by us in the Spanish gentleman of that day, he 
came well prepared by disposition and experience to take over 
the reins of government in this the farthest-flung province of the 
Spanish domain. It was during his tenure that many of the 
most significant reforms were effected. Schools were opened, 
agriculture encouraged, trade established. At last had come to 
the province, as governor, a man who held some of the ideals 
that actuated the padres. When his stand and his policies became 
defined, the padres were very much encouraged, and, by 1797, 
another wave of foundation activity was at hand. 

Padre Lasuén had in 1796 received suggestions from the 
various priests, up and down the coast, as to the best situations 
for new establishments, and in that year had sent these to the 
Governor, who, in turn, recommended them to the Viceroy. They 
were immediately approved at Mexico City and orders issued 
for the establishment of five new missions. Although the orders 
were received in the late spring of 1797, by June 11 the Padre- 
presidente had founded Mission San José and appointed as the 
first pastors, Padres Isidoro Barcenilla and Agustin Merino. On 





NTAIN 


FACHADA FROM THE FOU 


MISSION SANTA BARBARA. 


bay 
ans 





MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA. PATIO 


DiECUINES OE THE MISSION SYSTEM 45 


the 24th of the month, Padre Lasuén arrived at the site of the 
proposed Mission San Juan Bautista, some ten leagues northeast 
of Monterey, where Corporal Ballesteros had already started the 
- buildings. After consecration, Padre José Manuel de Martiarena 
and Padre Adriano Martinez were placed in charge. 

The next month saw the foundation of a third mission, that 
of San Miguel Arcangel, the celebration of the founding taking 
place on the 25th, with Padres Lasuén and Sitjar conducting the 
ceremonies, which were witnessed by a great congregation of 
friendly Indians. With the location of Mission San Miguel, 
Padre Lasuén considered the northern chain about complete. 
His attentions were now turned toward the south and, on the 
following September 8, Mission San Fernando Rey de Espajfia, 
midway between San Gabriel and San Buenaventura, was estab- 
lished, this making the fourth mission to be founded by the busy 
Padre-presidente in as many months. 

A period of nine months now elapsed before the foundation 
of the fifth authorized mission was made. After a considerable 
discussion of sites and much correspondence, Borica agreed to 
a site midway between Missions San Juan Capistrano and San 
Diego, and back four miles from the sea upon the San Luis Rey 
River. Here, on June 13, 1798, Padre Lasuén, assisted by Padres 
Antonio Peyri and Juan Norberto Santiago, celebrated the 
foundation and established Mission San Luis Rey, which was 
to become very prosperous in the early part of the next century. 
With this accomplished, the work of foundation in the south 
was considered complete, and Padre Lasuén turned his attention 
to other details of mission administration. The missions now 
entered their most prosperous era, materially and spiritually. 

In 1800 Governor Borica resigned and José Joaquin de 
Arrillaga became governor, holding that title from 1800 to 1814, 
the longest tenure of any of the Spanish governors. The new 
Governor was a man of fair ability and good intentions and 
possessed, be it said to his credit, the desire and power to get on 
with the padres, a feat which he accomplished in better fashion 
than any of his predecessors. It was often charged that he was 
dominated by the priests. If this be true, he may have been 
justified, for there is no question but that the missions, now so 





MISSION SANTA INES. CLOISTER 


DECEINESOF “UE MISSION SYSTEM 47 


prosperous, were the backbone of the whole province, while the 
pueblos, now nearly twenty years old, had made little progress. 

It was during the early part of Governor Arrillaga’s term that 
American vessels began to trade along the California Coast. Of 
course any commerce with foreigners was, at this time, absolutely 
forbidden, but, once begun, it increased secretly, with profit 
alike to the New England merchants and the padres. 

In 1803 Padre Lasuén died and Estévan Tapis became the 
new presidente. ‘he only mission established during his term 
of office was that of Santa Inés, the nineteenth, which he founded 
on September 17, 1804, assisted by Padres Cipres, Calzada, and 
Gutiérrez. With this establishment there was no further demand 
for new foundations west of the coast range, although from an 
early period there was a recognized demand for missions over 
the mountains. The establishment of missions upon the Colorado 
River was a movement to fulfil the needs of the interior, but 
with the destruction of these by the Indians, in 1781, the project 
was discouraged, with the exception that, from time to time, parts 
of the San Joaquin Valley were explored with a view of locating 
further establishments. 

In the meantime the missions prospered and grew into 
wealthy estates, absolutely and solely administered by the padres, 
who became, in a sense, not only the preachers of the country, 
but also its great farm managers, its great merchants, and, so far 
as the Indian population was concerned, its rulers. The stock 
multiplied upon the farms; great quantities of grain were pro- 
duced; the mission orchards and vineyards grew into bearing 
and throve abundantly. Nearly all of the missions erected new 
and handsomer buildings of brick or stone, provided irrigation 
ditches and aqueducts, which supplied with water the fountains 
for stock and domestic purposes, the baths, milk-houses, and 
laundries. The padres furnished great quantities of supplies to 
the presidios, and thus the government became the debtor of the 
‘missionaries whom it protected. With the establishment of Mis- 
sion Santa Inés, the padres claimed an unbroken chain of estates 
which, beginning at the Bay of San Diego and including the coast . 
lands, extended to San Francisco Bay. The day of the padres 
had come; this was the golden age of the missions. 


48 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


With the great prosperity of the missions and the correspond- 
ing backwardness of every other activity or institution in the 
province, there began to be manifest in the early years of the 
nineteenth century, both among the settlers in Alta California, 
and among the officials in Mexico and Spain, considerable dis- 
satisfaction regarding the status of affairs. To be sure there had 
always been the two parties, the church party and the anti-church 
party, but now many began to assert that the priests had gone 
too far and were exceeding their rights. It was said that they 
had come into the country to Christianize the Indian, but, in 
doing so, had virtually enslaved him, compelling him to give his 
labor for the spiritual teaching and a scanty board and keep. 

The mission system was, in some quarters, looked upon as a 
priestly feudal system, the priests playing the part of the lord, 
the Indian becoming the serf. Moreover, the refusal of the 
padres to brook any interference in the discipline of the Indians, 
which, sometimes, and under certain priests, was no doubt severe, 
was a proof to many that the padres were usurping the power 
of the civil authorities. But by far the greatest dissatisfaction 
came about through a realization of the fact that the province was 
destitute, while the missions, through the protection of the author- 
ities in Mexico, had become the wealth-holding institutions. 

But in spite of adverse criticism affairs went well for the 
missionaries until 1813. On September 13 of that year, the 
Spanish Cortes passed a law which provided that all lands which 
had been in the hands of the priests for ten years or more should 
be taken from their control and turned over to the Indians, who 
were, after all, the rightful owners. Ferdinand VII was at the 
time the prisoner of Napoleon in France, but, when he returned 
to Spain in 1814, he repudiated this law, together with the other 
acts of the Cortes. Thus for a time the padres were to be safe. 
However, with the revolution of 1819, this law again was placed 
in effect and was still in effect, although not in actual operation, 
at least so far as California was concerned, when Mexico gained 
her independence September 27, 1821. 

Shortly after the independence of Mexico came the order to 
“liberate” the mission Indians, to suspend the payment of the 
annual stipend of the padres, to form the mission establishments 


DECLINE OF THE MISSION SYSTEM 49 


into pueblos with secular curates, and to grant lands to all Indians 
who were able to maintain themselves. All these provisions, 
of course, only go to prove a total ignorance on the part of 
the legislators in Mexico of actual conditions in California. 
Although the Indians had been under the care of the padres for 
many years, they were, as yet, not able to maintain themselves, 
and the priests pleaded for more time in which to accomplish 
their task. The enemies of the padres pointed out that, under 
the system in vogue, the Indians could never become self-support- 
ing or self-respecting citizens, and argued that a continuance of 
the system would serve only to make the eventual change more 
difficult. Whatever the relative merits of the arguments, the 
reglamento of November 21, 1828, provided that the mission 
lands should not be colonized until some disposition could be 
made of the Indians, who were clearly not able to shift for them- 
selves when taken from under the guiding hands of the padres. 

This status obtained until August 17, 1833, when the Mexican 
Congress passed the law designed to take the mission lands from 
the hands of the padres, give them as grants to settlers, and estab- 
lish local civil governments. On November 4 followed a law 
authorizing the transportation of emigrants from Mexico to 
colonize the mission lands, and on April 16, 1834, came the 
famous law secularizing all the missions of Mexico, regardless of 
the length of time that they had been in the hands of the padres. 

The result of the secularization is well known to those con- 
versant with western history. How in a very short period this 
splendid system of prosperous establishments was utterly ruined 
clearly illustrates what is likely to happen when, of a sudden, 
those unused to ruling take over the direction of a nation and its 
institutions. The methods devised for accomplishing the result, 
a result perhaps worthy enough in itself, were ill-advised and 
stupid, and the commissioners charged with administration fre- 
quently corrupt and incompetent. 

Instead of seeking the aid or advice of the padres, who knew 
the Indians, their abilities and limitations, the commissioners 
completely ignored them. With great pomp and long harangues, 
they announced to the Indians that they might go free, wherever 
they pleased. Thus were these children, who had always been 

4 


50 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


dependent upon the judgment and planning of others, turned out 
to shift for themselves. To most of them this new freedom from 
restraint meant idleness and debauchery. Many, of course, ran 
away to the hills and returned to wild habits; others wandered 
about like homeless waifs, unable to elevate themselves above the 
class of common laborers. The plan to form them into pueblos 
was a failure, and those who obtained lands soon managed to sell 
them and squander the proceeds in gambling or drunkenness. 
Untrained to foresee or plan for the future, the Indian easily 
became the prey of the white settler, who, in spite of the efforts 
of the Governor, was awaiting to take advantage of the liber- 
ated neophyte. 

Ten of the missions were secularized in 1834 and six more 
during the next year. In the absence of the seculars who were to 
have been appointed to succeed the padres, but who never came, 
many of the old priests stayed manfully by their neophytes, doing 
the best that they could under the circumstances. Some, dis- 
gusted at the whole turn of affairs, left the country, while others 
retired to the houses assigned to them and figured in society only 
when called upon for services. 

With the system broken, the padres gone or indifferent, and 
the Indians scattered or refusing to work, the establishments ran 
down. The few Indians who remained planted no crops, and 
soon the government found itself pinched for the supplies that 
heretofore had come largely from the mission farms. The com- 
missioners claimed that the Indians would not work and asked 
that the major-domos compel them to work, with the result that, 
from time to time, there came reports of Indians having been 
beaten to death by these overseers. If mission discipline was bad, 
certainly this was worse. In the midst of it all, Governor 
Figueroa died and was succeeded by three governors in the space 
Oflaeveat, 

Finally, at the end of a period of intrigue and conflict, Gover- 
nor Alvarado came into power in 1836. . His term of office (1836— 
1842) was one of intense unrest, strife, and revolution, a political 
condition not conducive to the straightening out of the tangled 
mission difficulties. Alvarado, however, made an attempt to 
learn the real condition of affairs and appointed William E. P. 


DECIINE OF “THE MISSION SYSTEM SI 


Hartnell, an Englishman who had been in the country some 
fifteen years, to visit the missions and make a report. Hartnell 
showed that scarcely one-eighth of the Indians remained and 
that the properties had depreciated tremendously. As a result 
of this report, the Governor attempted reforms in administration, 
but with little effect. Matters had gone too far: the missions 
were practically ruined. Thus the mission wealth vanished, as 
had the Indians. 

When, in 1845, Pio Pico, the last ruler under the Mexican 
régime, became governor, he conceived the idea of renting or 
selling the mission lands in order to defray the expenses of 
administration. The decree was passed, and, as a result, farms 
and houses were sold, to the highest bidders to be sure, but at 
prices so low as to make them seem almost free grants. Only 
the churches in actual use were reserved. Thus the great proper- 
ties passed into private hands and have continued in private 
hands from that day to this, with the exception of the churches 
and some small lands that were returned to the Church by the 
United States courts after the American occupation. 

But with the passing of the missions the country was opened 
to colonization, and secularization was, after all, a great benefit 
to California as a whole. That the missions must eventually have 
been secularized, no one doubted; the method of secularization 
has, however, remained one of the great blots upon the history 
of California. 








A Keystone from San Juan Capistrano 


CHAT LER AY: 
LIFE AT THE MISSIONS—ECCLESIASTICAL 


r NAHE life of the Hispanic period in Alta California centred 
around the three colonizing institutions, namely: the 
mission, the presidio, and the pueblo, and hence may be 

classed as ecclesiastical, military, and civil. In the early days 

and for a considerable portion of the Hispanic period, the mis- 
sion-house was the centre of social as well as of the ecclesiastical 
life. However, the mission as an institution was never considered 
by the Spanish authorities anything more than a temporary 
Christianizing agency, to be discontinued as soon as the Indian 
should learn the essentials of citizenship. When that time should 
arrive, it was proposed that the mission settlements should be 
converted into Indian pueblos; the mission churches should 
become parish churches and secular priests should take charge 
of the religious duties, as was customary in other parts of the 

Spanish domain. 

The system of mission organization and administration used 
by the Franciscans was based upon the experience of the Jesuits 
in Baja California and was almost uniform throughout the 
mission chain. The padres were charged with the sole care and 
control of the Indians and were responsible for their training in 
the various occupations and crafts and in the Spanish language, 
Christian doctrine, and singing. 

The mission program, with the great number of Indians to 
be cared for, called for broad acres upon which to establish the 
mission grain-fields, orchards, and pastures, and an extensive 
group of buildings, embracing shops, store-houses, priests’ quar- 
ters, and church. Then, too, a cemetery was needed, a water 
supply was necessary, and, above all, protection for the neophytes 
and property against the inroads of wild and uncivilized Indian 
bands was essential. With only two priests normally in residence 
at one time, one caring for the spiritual needs, the other for the 
temporalities, administration became, as will be seen, a formid- 
able problem. 

The mission buildings were situated as nearly as possible in 
the centre of the mission lands. These buildings were designed 


52 









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54 





MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA, ANCIENT PALMS AND OLIVE TREES 


eee ti evita IONS--HCCLESIASTICAL, 55 


in a simple, straightforward, and craftsmanlike manner to 
accommodate the workaday life that the padres had prescribed 
for the Indians, afford the necessary protection, and teach the 
Indians the commonly accepted notions of sanitation and orderli- 
ness in their relation to the human dwelling. The padres lived in 
the mission, usually in a special house or apartment, together with 
the necessary servants and workmen, while the great body of the 
neophytes lived in-the Indian village near by. 

Shops for the industries, such as weaving, carpentry, black- 
smithing, soap and candle making, hat, shoe, and rug making 
were provided, as well as various store-houses for hides, tallow, 
wool, and grain. Add to these apartments quarters for the major- 
domo (overseer) and soldiers, a small guard-house, a few guest- 
rooms, a hospital or infirmary, the church with its baptistry and 
sacristy, and some notion is gained of the various structures that 
the padres so simply, yet so logically, developed to meet the needs 
of their educative program. In order to afford protection, these 
various structures were usually distributed around the four sides 
of a quadrangle called the patio, communication between the 
various apartments being made by means of a cloistered walk 
surrounding the patio, as in the old monasteries of Europe. 

The daily routine began with the Angelus at sunrise, which 
called the Indians to assemble in the chapel, where they were 
required to attend morning prayers and mass. Following mass, 
breakfast was served, after which each went to his work. At noon 
dinner was eaten and all hands rested until 2 P.M., when work 
was resumed and continued until the call of the Angelus an hour 
before sunset. After prayers and rosary, the evening meal was 
eaten and the Indians were free to dance or indulge in any other 
harmless amusement. 

The unmarried girls were placed in a convent (monjério) 
under a trusted Indian matron (la madre abadesa), who was 
responsible for their welfare, and their education in the crafts. 
This ‘‘ convent ” was protected with barred windows, like those 
_upon the houses of Spain and Mexico, and the doors were locked 
at night. The young woman was not allowed to leave the convent 
until she had been won by a young man and was sufficiently 
skilled in the various household activities to become a good wife. 


56 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Thus the padres hoped to elevate the scale of living in the next 
generation. The unmarried men were kept in another house and 
also locked in at night. The various Indian overseers assigned 
work for the bachelors each morning, as did the madre for the 
young women. 

The unmarried Indians and servants received their food at 
meal-time from the community kitchen, while the married 
Indians were given rations each Saturday for the ensuing week. 
These rations, which consisted of maize, wheat, beans, fresh or 
dried meat, were taken to the houses, where the families ate 
in private. 

The diet at the missions consisted of mutton, beef, vegetables, 
and tortillas, made from corn-meal. A gruel of corn-meal (atole) 
or of wheat-meal (pinole) made in the community pozolera 
(vat) was used almost universally. Sometimes it was varied, 
upon Sundays or feast-days, by the addition of chopped mutton, 
beef, or beans. On hot days a refresco, made of lemon, sugar, 
and water, was sent to the field by the padres. The padres, of 
course, indulged in a finer fare than that prepared for the neo- 
phytes, but the fare of the padres, like that of the Indians, was 
painfully uniform and most of the delicacies, not produced in 
the country, the priests paid for from their slender stipends, out 
of which they also clothed themselves and bought ornaments for 
the church. 

The dress of the neophytes consisted, for the men, of a pair 
of linen pantaloons and a woolen serge (jerge) smock; for the 
women, a skirt, smock, and underclothing. The alcaldes (Indian 
overseers) and head workmen wore clothing like that of the 
Spaniards. Much of the cloth used for the making of clothing 
was woven at the missions, the padre himself attending to the 
cutting of the materials, the young women, versed in sewing, 
forming them into garments. Each Indian was issued one 
blanket a year, but in case it became worn, another was given him. 

Upon the mission farms were grown wheat, corn, hemp, 
tobacco, flax, and cane. The orchards produced olives, figs, 
pomegranates, peaches, pears, apples, apricots, plums, cherries, 
oranges, and lemons, and there were great vineyards. The variety 
of olive raised by the padres is today usually called the ‘‘ Mission 


ies Del ritevilsslONS.ECCLESIASTICAL: 57 


Olive,” and, according to E. D. R. Bianciardi,’ has not been 
identified with any of the varieties commonly grown in Europe 
at the present time. The California olive seems to have arrived 
by way of South America, into which country it is said to have 
been introduced in 1560 by Antonio Ribera. The California 
trees were grown from seeds sent in from Mexico, whither the 
tree had been carried from South America. San Diego was the 
first place at which the olive was planted. The trees throve 
wonderfully in that climate, and San Diego became known 
throughout California for her fine olives and oil. Remnants of 
the famous old orchards are still to be seen in the vicinity of the 
ruined mission. 

Just when the grape, orange, lemon, and other fruits were 
introduced has been a subject of much discussion and specula- 
tion, and there are many traditions concerning them. It is more 
than likely that seeds or cuttings were sent in with the early 
parties to California, as mission reports before the death of Serra 
in 1784 mention nearly all varieties as flourishing in the mission 
orchards. ‘The grape especially was flourishing at an early 
period and wine was produced in the southern establishments 
Detores79 5. 

Another fruit, not widely distributed in Alta California, yet 
nevertheless introduced by the padres, was the date-palm. Fine 
specimens of this tree have for years been familiar landmarks in 
the vicinity of some of the southern missions, those at San Fer- 
nando and San Diego being especially famous. 

The feathery, red-berried “ pepper tree” (Schinus molle) 
was also first planted by the padres, although, according to tradi- 
tion, the seeds were actually brought into the country from Lima, 
Peru, by a sailor who gave them to the padre-in-charge at Mission 
San Luis Rey. The seeds were planted at this mission, and, 
eventually, a row of pepper trees was set out in front of the build- 
ing, while one tree was left in the patio. The trees in front of 
the building have long since died out, but the lone tree of the 
patio, although much damaged by the frost of 1913, still remains 
the sole representative of the original generation of California 
mipepper trees.” 


* Bianciardi: Century; XXVI (1883) ; 555. 


58 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


In addition to the fields and orchards, the missions had 
gardens for flowers and vegetables. Among the vegetables were 
beans, beets, peas, lentils, onions, carrots, Spanish peppers (pim- 
ientas), corn, potatoes,* squashes, cucumbers, and melons. The 
flower garden contained Castilian roses, pinks, sweet-peas, holly- 
hocks, nasturtiums, brought from Mexico, and white lilies. 

That the agricultural methods of the padres were not crude, 
and perhaps even wasteful, no one would attempt to prove. In 
spite of backward methods, however, the favoring climate and 
fertile soil assured, if moisture could be had, a bountiful crop. 
But the great orchards and fields in such a climate as that of 
California could not thrive perennially without some sort of arti- 
ficial irrigation, and early the padres began, especially in the 
south, to develop irrigation flumes and to build dams across the 
canons to trap and store the winter rains. Thus at San Luis 
Obispo, as early as 1776, an irrigation system was in process of 
construction. At San Diego some work was done in 1795 upon an 
irrigation system, but the grey granite dam, still to be seen, across 
a gorge at the western end of the Cajon Canon, was not begun 
until after 1800. The completeness of these works serves to prove 
that the padres were not entirely ignorant of the science of irriga- 
tion, taught to their forefathers so many centuries before by the 
followers of Mahomet. 

In spite of the great development of grain and fruit raising, 
stock-raising may be said to have been the principal industry. 
The original stock, sent in from Mexico with the early expedi- 
tions, developed into great herds. The sheep and cattle were 
raised upon ranchos some distance from the mission proper, the 
herds being under the direction of trusted vaqueros (herders). 
Every Saturday morning, the cattle selected to provide the meat 
supply for the ensuing week were driven into the calaveras or 
slaughter-pen. Often fifty to one hundred beeves were slaughtered 
and of course this entailed a great deal of labor. Indians were 
accordingly trained as butchers, many of whom, becoming 
expert, were in demand on the private ranchos. The tallow was 
preserved for candle-making, the fat for soap-making, while the 

* The first seed potatoes were given to the padres of Mission San Carlos by the 


French traveller, Lapérouse, in 1786. He had obtained these potatoes during his visit 
to Chile. 








MISSION SANTA BARBARA, OLD STONE LAUNDRY BASIN 


60 


UOdIAAOD “WNVdSd Ad ATA OGNVNUAA 


Ses 


oe 


NVS NOISSIW 
YIOK MON “OD *qng Yyoog jeinzooz1yo1y jo 


ocular eateries eee 


ETNA LCS RRR ston menoReNcucetttooHtsnncoe 


Asaqinoy 





Pat EL EeNMESSIONS=-ECCLESIASTICAL 61 


hides were carefully tanned for home use or for export upon the 
trading-vessels that visited the coast. 

The Indians taught the padres the method of “ jerking” or 
drying beef. This permitted the storage, and use at a future 
time, of the surplus meat. Often the bleached skulls, with their 
long curved horns, were collected and built into the top of the 
adobe garden and corral walls, thus presenting an almost impas- 
sable barricade to the thief who would scale the wall. The hides 
were used in the making of clothing, the construction of ham- 
mocks, beds, curtains for doors and windows, especially in the 
wet winter months, and, in the absence of iron and bolts, for hold- 
ing together the structural timbers. 

If each mission was at once a great grain and fruit farm and 
a great cattle ranch, it was likewise a great manufactory, and the 
Indians who were not employed in preparing the ground and 
raising grain, with irrigating, pruning orchards, and picking 
fruit, were kept busy utilizing the products of orchard, field, and 
cattle range for the good of the whole community. The weaving 
of cloth and blankets * from wool, cotton, and flax occupied many 
of the workers, and the looms of San Juan Capistrano, San 
Gabriel, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara became famous. The 
Indians learned to dye their fabrics and the splints of wood or 
reed used in basket-making, and to color lime whitewash, thus 
making a distemper paint which they used to form conventional 
decorations upon the interior walls of the churches. 

Many of the women were occupied with the preparation of 
wheat and corn-meal. In the early days, the conversion of the 
grain into meal was accomplished after the aboriginal fashion 
in stone metates (mortars). When the Lapérouse expedition 
visited California in 1786, M. de Langle presented to the padres 
of Mission San Carlos an iron hand-mill for grinding the grain. 
The padres, however, were,looking forward to the time when 
stone mills, like those of Mexico and Spain, could be operated 
by horse-power or water-wheel. Early in the nineteenth century, 
water-power flour-mills began to be built, those at Santa Cruz, 
San Luis Obispo, San José, Santa Barbara, and San Gabriel 
being well developed. 


* No blankets were imported for the missions after 1797. 


62 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


The men were taught to quarry stone, burn lime, make sun- 
dried and burned bricks, and burned roofing-tiles. They were 
also taught the rudiments of lumbering, the felling of trees and 
the hewing out of the timbers. In addition to the timbers needed 
for the buildings, the lumber used for the making of furniture, 
carts, wine-vats, and for other purposes, was prepared by them. 
The Indians often developed into good carpenters and wood- 
carvers, making the confessionals, altars, pulpits, and other 
church furniture, as well as tables, benches, chairs, cupboards, 
and chests used in other parts of the missions. 

Some of the men became blacksmiths, the neophytes of San 
Fernando Rey becoming famous for their work in iron. The 
museum of mission relics in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, con- 
tains many examples of wrought iron, farm implements, locks, 
keys, hinges, spurs, scissors, cattle-brands, and bells. Some deli- 
cate and beautiful wrought iron still remains upon the “ monas- 
tery’ building at San Fernando, where a number of the fine old 
iron grilles are still to be seen. In addition to the mechanical 
skill apparent in these relics, considerable artistic excellence 
is displayed. 

The leather-work of the men, braided, carved, or polished, 
was excellent and, in skill and beauty of execution, rivalled that 
of their teachers who were sent from Mexico. The Indian dis- 
played singular ability, not only in tanning the leather, but 
also in fashioning it into saddles, bridles, stirrups, belts, and 
gloves, and applying appropriate designs to these articles. 

Most of the training was given to the Indians by the priests 
themselves or by members of the escolta versed in some particular 
trade or craft. However, the government made an effort to send 
artisans into the country, and by 1792 these began to make their 
appearance. These craftsmen were distributed among the mis- 
sions or travelled from one mission to another, teaching the 
Indians as they went. This training produced many good native 
artisans, with the result that, by 1800, the padres were practically 
independent so far as training in the ordinary industries was con- 
cerned. Should the padres need expert stone-carvers or master 
masons, however, these had to be brought from Mexico. 

Although the Indian seemed capable of learning the various 


Pen De PevilS IONS ECCLESIASTICAL © 63 


handcrafts and trades, he was unable to master book-learning. 
With few books and few facilities for teaching, the padres could 
turn their attention to but a few of the most intelligent of the 
boys. These were taught to read and write and do simple arith- 
metical problems. Among many of the Indians there was mani- 
fest a natural musical ability, and this the padres developed both 
vocally and instrumentally, with the result that many of the 
churches became famous for their singing. On the whole, how- 
ever, the education was almost entirely of a religious nature, and 
perhaps rightly so. The padres held that, even if the Indians 
were capable of amassing an education, in the sense that we 
understand the term, they would only become dissatisfied with 
and refuse to do honest manual labor. Hard work the padres 
considered the road to right living. If they could be made hon- 
est, God-fearing, self-respecting, and self-supporting citizens, 
this was as much as could be expected from the bulk of these 
simple children. 





A Keystone from San Juan Capistrano 


CHAPTER VI 
LIFE IN THE PROVINCE—SECULAR 


accessory to permanent government, plans were necessary 

for permanent colonial development. This was to be accom- 
plished by two further institutions, the presidio or fort and the 
pueblo or town. 

The presidio as a Spanish institution bears some relation to 
the antecedent Roman institution, the presidium. The sole pur- 
pose of the presidio was, of course, to hold the country in the 
name of the Spanish monarch and to protect it. The presidios 
were to furnish guards for the various missions, and to this end 
every mission had its guard-house and accommodations for 
the soldiers. 

That the number of soldiers in Alta California at any one 
time was insufficient to guard so long a coast-line and at the same 
time protect the country against Indian attacks, goes without 
saying. In 1780, after ten years of occupation, the total military 
force in the three presidios numbered only eighty men. The 
business of this small force was to protect the missions, eight in 
number, containing sixteeen friars and three thousand converted 
Indians, scattered along a trail over five hundred miles in length, 
one pueblo of twenty settlers, a population of five hundred mixed 
Spanish and half-breeds, and guard the coast-line from foreign 
invasion; a task manifestly impossible. In 1781 Governor Neve 
increased the presidial force to two hundred men, and as time 
went on the number was further increased, but either indifference 
in Mexico or lack of appreciation of the situation in Spain oper- 
ated to keep down the number of soldiers available for Cali- 
fornian service, and, at the same time, failed to provide either 
decent housing or adequate ordnance to make effective the 
number of men that had been sent. Moreover, the pay was 
irregular, if forthcoming at all, and the soldiers were required 
to act as farmers, vaqueros, and artisans as well, with no increase 
in the pay, which was miserably low. 

That the housing and defensive structures were anything but 
satisfactory may be gained from a report made by engineer 


|: THE mission was to be of only temporary existence, an 


64 


D 
: Tg 


ie | ses oa | a 
Ea 


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PLAZA. 


a 


3 
3] 
es 
8 | 


ae Tet eI Ee] i | 


Ergo | [ils 


WOO A Pe, ee) = /20 16 
‘PLAN: OF- SANTA: BARBARA PRE/IDIO 1788+ 


hipsped | BN eos 7~Alferez' Suite | I3~Alferez’ Corrals, ¥itchen 
e-Storehouses 8-Commandant'sa Suite tt-Goumendantin ok 

rea Aas repartae 9-Family Houses =; I5-Chaplain's Corral 
S-Charah ain 10-Chapiain’s Suite 16-Western Bastion 
GaBacrist Il-Sergeant's House Too taptern 3 

y I2-Guard Room and Quarterstg—corraia 

This is the plan of the Presidio sent by Commandant Goyccechea to 
Governor Fages in 1788. 





66 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Cordoba upon the status of the San Diego Presidio defences in 
1796, in which he says that he found “ no other merit than that 
the enemy would perhaps be ignorant of their weakness.” 

An idea of the presidial arrangement may be obtained from 
the accompanying plan of Santa Barbara Presidio (p. 65) made 
in 1788 by Commandant Goycoechea in a report to Governor 
Fages. That Santa Barbara Presidio was far ahead of the other 
California posts in point of material welfare is to be gained from 
the account of Vancouver, the English traveller who visited the 
place in November, 1793. He says that the place presented an 
‘appearance far more civilized ” than any other of the Spanish 
establishments exhibited. The buildings appeared regular and 
well constructed, the walls clean and white, and the roofs of the 
houses were covered with a bright red tile. ‘“ The presidio,” quot- 
ing further, ‘‘ excels all others in neatness, cleanliness, and other 
smaller though essential comforts; it is placed upon an elevated 
part of the plain and is raised some feet from the ground by a 
basement story, which adds much to its pleasantness.”’ 

The regular term of enlistment for California soldiers was 
ten years, but a term of at least eighteen years of service was 
required for retirement. Many of the soldiers, as time went 
on, withdrew from the service and were granted land, thus estab- 
lishing estates that in subsequent days took on great values. Many 
of the best Spanish-Calfornian families of a later period found 
their beginnings in these very soldiers of old Spain. 

The story of the pueblos is different. The early moral tone 
of society in the pueblos was of very doubtful quality. This 
was due largely to the colonial policy of Spain, a policy which 
considered the direct and immediate advantage that would 
accrue to the crown and homeland rather than the welfare of the 
colonists. Title to colonial possessions was vested in the crown, 
which was above the interference of the Cortes, the representa- 
tive element in Spanish government. The early colonists were 
given only temporary titles to the land, could not mortgage nor 
transfer occupancy without the King’s consent, and were treated 
more as tenants than as free citizens of a great monarch. 
Foreigners could not enter the colonies without passport, and 
residence therein was restricted to the aborigines and Spanish 


DENG LEE hOVINCE=—SECULAR 67 


subjects. Such conditions would scarcely encourage citizens of 
the best class to come to California, and, as a result, much of the 
riffraff of Mexico and the peninsula became the pioneer material 
of Alta California. 

When Governor Filipe de Neve became the chief executive 
in 1776, the absence of settlers struck him very forcibly and he 
recommended to the Viceroy that colonists be sent in to till the 
soil and begin the formation of the pueblos, which were a part 
of the colonization scheme. The sites recommended were those 
that became eventually Los Angeles and San José. 

The pueblo of San José de Guadalupe was established in 
November, 1777, on the eastern bank of the Guadalupe River, 
about three-quarters of a league southeast of Mission Santa Clara. 
The population was made up of sixty-six colonists, nine retired 
soldiers of the Monterey and San Francisco presidios, together 
with their families, and a few others. The Governor, however, 
seems to have been displeased with the showing that the 
ex-soldiers made at San José, for, in 1781, when he proposed the 
establishment of pueblo Los neces he asked De Croix to send 
as colonists agricultural people from Mexico. The most liberal 
inducements were made, including advancements of cash, pro- 
visions, stock, and implements, in addition to land, but, after a 
year’s coral Captain Rivera, the official errmcet with form- 
ing the emigration party, sent to Los Angeles a motley crowd 
of low types containing two Spaniards, one mestizo,’ two negroes, 
eight mulatto and nine Indian adults, and children of every con- 
ceivable mixture of these bloods. Within two months after the 
arrival, one of the Spaniards and the two negroes were expelled 
because they were of “‘ no use to the pueblo or themselves.” 

The pueblo of Branciforte, on the site of the modern Santa 
Cruz, was of scarcely better beginnings, and Bancroft? remarks 
that the moral tone of the town still suffers from its early popu- 
lation. The policy of dumping convicts wholesale upon Cali- 
fornia appears to have been instituted in 1798 and to have 
continued until as late as 1834. This was a course not calculated 
to raise the moral tone of California and a procedure very much 


*A mestizo is a Spanish-Indian half-breed. 
? Bancroft: California Pastoral; 253. 


68 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


resented by the better class of citizens who by this time began 
to make their way into the country. This, then, was the material 
with which early California was peopled, and theirs the influence 
that the padres had constantly to combat. 

The giving of a few private land-grants between 1781 and 
1822, the date when California passed from Spanish sovereignty, 
encouraged a few families of the better class to enter the country, 
but by far the greater influx took place after 1822, or between 
1822 and 1848. With the coming of numbers of women into Cali- 
fornia about 1834, the civil life of the province, so poorly begun, 
took on a much higher tone. These latter days comprise the 
charming, romantic period of Californian history, the period of 
great days at San Diego and Monterey, the period of the fan- 
dango and cascarone balls, the guitar and the serenade, the time 
to which every mind turns when the old days of California 
are recalled. 

It was an age of hospitality. John Bidwell and Guadalupe 
Vallejo in their writings have given good pictures of the life 
of the period. “The people,” says Bidwell, “ had a custom of 
never charging for anything; that is to say, for entertainment, 
food, use of horses, etc.” It was the custom for one travelling 
through the country to carry his own blankets, even if he were 
invited to visit a friend, and one always carried a knife to cut 
his own meat. 

The fare on the ranchos, as in the pueblos, consisted largely of 
meat, beef and mutton being abundant, although beans and other 
legumes were plentiful. Few other vegetables were raised or 
eaten, and the intense meat diet has been used to account for the 
robust, ruddy type of men and women developed in the open air 
of the coast during these days. Fruits were relished, but the sup- 
ply came principally from the mission gardens and orchards, 
few fruits being raised upon the ranchos, There were no hotels 
in the country before 1846, the ranch-houses, haciendas,*? and 
missions serving that purpose. 

The method of locomotion was by means of the saddle. It 
used to be said that a Californian would not do anything that he 


* Rancho was applied to a stock-raising farm, while a hacienda was an agricultural 
plantation. 


CIEE INe THE PROVINCE SECULAR 69 


could not accomplish from the saddle. There were few carriages 
in the country and very few horses were broken to harness, men 
and women alike riding horseback. Naturally there were many 
expert riders, and the first accomplishment of every Spanish- 
Californian lad was to become an adept at riding. Fine horse- 
flesh was appreciated and great pride taken in the saddle, trap- 
pings, and habit. Horse-racing and varieties of trick riding 
were often features of a Sunday afternoon’s sport, and the best 
rider in the community was likely to be a very popular person. 

The only vehicle in the country was the clumsy ox-drawn 
carreta. Without skilled wheelwrights in the province, the 
simplest type of wheel was employed. These wheels were made 
from slabs sawn from the trunk of a tree, which, bored at the 
centre, were adjusted to an axle to which was attached a pole. 
Upon this structure was built a platform around which a railing 
was erected. The only lubricant used upon these squeaking car- 
retas was soft soap, and, since there was no receptacle upon the 
axle for retaining the lubricant, we may guess that the dry, dusty 
trails of California made necessary a frequent replenishing. 

As at the missions, sheep and cattle raising was the principal 
industry of most of the civilians, and one for which the Cali- 
fornians were well suited both in habits and disposition. It was 
an industry that could be carried on with little exertion and 
entailed nothing of the drudgery that attended agricultural call- 
ings. The cattle, branded with the mark of the owner, ranged 
over the land, which was not fenced, and were rounded up once 
a year, when the increase was branded and the herd counted. This 
annual “‘ round-up,” called the “ rodeo,” was always a festive 
occasion. After the branding and stock-taking were over, there 
followed the barbecue and riding sports with which the day 
ended, wives, sisters, and sweethearts coming to make the event 
joyous and gay. 

The cattle were raised, of course, principally for the hides, 
there being little market for the meat. The hides and tallow were 
sold to traders, principally from New England, who, coming 
around Cape Horn, visited the coast, bringing shoes, calicoes, 
blankets, cheap jewelry, rum, implements, and other supplies. 
Dana, in his ‘‘ Two Years Before the Mast,” sets forth the story 





OLD SPANISH CARRETA “OLD TOWN,” SAN DIEGO 





ROOF OF OLD SPANISH TILES, MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 


PE UNS re ROVING SECULAR 71 


of a visit to the California Coast of one of these Yankee 
trading-vessels. 

Whenever a vessel put into a port, there was great rejoicing 
on land and the rancheros and vaqueros from the back country, 
as well as the coast people, would flock into the pueblos, bringing 
hides and tallow to exchange for the things that the Yankee had 
to sell. Sometimes the cattle were rounded up by the vaqueros, 
driven to the beach near the ship, and there slaughtered and 
skinned, the hides being salted, and the tallow tried out in 
kettles, brought down for the purpose, and cast in holes scooped 
out in the sand. 

Dancing has always been a passion with the Spanish, and, in 
an out-of-the-way place like California, with few amusements, 
the dance had a large part in the frivolities of the people. The 
carnival ball was always a gala occasion. For an event of this 
kind the guests came for miles on horseback, starting the day 
previous if need be. Often the guests carried “ cascarones ” 
(egg-shells filled with finely cut gold and silver paper), vials of 
colored liquids, or powdered pigments. It was a part of the 
game to ride near another and break a cascarone upon his head or 
stain his face with the liquid or powder without getting the same 
thing in return. This carnival spirit, with indoor variations, con- 
tinued after the arrival at the house of the host and hostess, was 
calculated to put the party into a hilarious frame of mind. Often 
the older members of the party carried vials of perfume to be 
showered upon the ladies and vials of scented ammonia to be 
sprinkled as freely upon the gentlemen. As soon as the guests 
arrived the dancing began. This was interrupted by an elabo- 
rate banquet, which, served about sundown, was followed by the 
main ball, a very courtly and dignified affair, which often lasted 
all night. The annual carnival ball in any community was always 
a great social event. 

The Californians were always fond of out-of-door sports, 
a love for which such a climate and life in the open naturally 
engenders. The main sports were horse-racing, cock-fighting, 
bull-and-bear fights, and of course the bull-fights, after the 
fashion of the sport of Spain. The bull-and-bear fight was a con- 


1 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


test between the animals, which were tied together in such a way 
that they soon fell to fighting. 

Life in the province was a happy and care-free existence. 
Some one has said that the most serious business of the population 
consisted in passing the time pleasantly and joyously. In an 
atmosphere such as this, it will be seen that intercourse between 
the mission neophytes and the civil population would mean only 
trouble for the padres. Although the Spanish Californians had 
many admirable qualities, they had also numerous faults, and the 
Indian neophyte, in characteristic savage fashion, seemed invari- 
ably to appropriate the faults. That morals were lax, that there 
was much that was crude and revolting, even during the best 
Hispano-Californian days, can scarcely be denied. Yet, on the 
whole, it may be said with truth that, after the coming of 
women into the province, the general tone, morally and other- 
wise, was scarcely lower than that which generally obtains in 
pioneer communities. 





A Spanish-Californian Senorita 


PART II 
THE OLD MISSIONS 


” 





GHAR LE RV LI 


MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION 


LTHOUGH California as an American state has within 
ING boundaries vast resources in the way of building 
materials, the California of Spanish days had a compara- 
tively meagre supply of good building material. Especially was 
this true of stone of durable quality, and in the south, of wood 
also. In the case of stone the supply for some of the missions 
had to be brought from a distance. Usually, however, the stones 
used were those nearest the site of the proposed structure, and 
consisted of granite boulders, taken from the washes, volcanic 
stones from the near-by foot-hills, chalkstone, limestone, and 
sandstone. As a general thing, the stones employed would not 
be considered worthy of use today in the better class of structures, 
but protected with stucco, as they usually were, these stones have 
served their purpose well. 

Clay is available at almost any point along the coast and was 
used for making brick, roofing-tiles, drains, and ollas (jugs). 
Most of the bricks were of a red color, rather soft but durable. 
They were used for all purposes to which we would put brick 
today ; for walls, arches, piers, and chimneys, and, since no wooden 
floors were used, for pavements of the cloisters, courts, and rooms 
aswell. There were various forms, but the ordinary brick was flat, 
being about 114” to 2” thick, and about 10” x 10” square, thus 
resembling the Spanish and Mexican variety. 

Adobe, a material widely distributed in California and the 
Southwest, was largely employed during the mission period. It is 
a material that, used with judgment, will endure for many years. 
It was fashioned into sun-dried bricks, which were made some- 
times with straw as a bond, but more often depended upon the 
natural grog of fine particles of disintegrated rock. Bricks of 
this sun-dried variety, laid up with mud as an adhesive, have 
been employed from early antiquity down to our own day, their 
use in Spain dating from the conquest of the Moors. The idea 
was carried into Mexico and California, and adobe, being easily 
obtainable, became a popular material throughout the province. 
Of course the padres knew perfectly well that walls made of 


75 


76 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


adobe must be protected from the elements, hence such walls 
were covered with stucco. Roofs were given a wide projection in 
order to ward off the intense sunshine and protect the adobe 
walls from the weather. 

Lime was made either by burning limestone, which, although 
not of the best quality, was obtainable, or by burning sea-shells, 
of which there was a never-failing supply. Since all wall sur- 
faces, inside and out, were kept whitewashed, lime was necessary 
at all times, and it is to be guessed that the burning of sea-shells 
furnished the greater part of this. 

Wood as a building material was plentiful in the north, but 
scarce in the south. In the region around San Francisco Bay, the 
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was especially plentiful, the 
forests of this tree in the vicinity of Mt. Tamalpais furnishing 
the timbers for Missions San Francisco and Santa Clara and for 
the old Presidio. In Mill Valley today can be seen the stumps of 
enormous trees, cut at this time, with a second growth towering 
toward the sky. 

Near Monterey’* was to be found the Monterey cypress 
(Cupresses macrocarpa), a tree which does not occur outside of 
California. This species, popular during mission days, was so 
thoroughly drawn upon that the present survivors occupy a terri- 
tory only two miles long and some two hundred feet wide, extend- 
ing from Cypress Point to the shores of Carmel Bay, with a 
small grove on Point Lobos. The wood is heavy, strong, hard, 
and durable. 

Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), which occurs in the Monterey 
Bay section and on the islands near by, notably Santa Rosa and 
Santa Cruz, was, no doubt, a source of supply for Mission San 
Carlos. We are told by Bancroft that Captain Wilcox made a 
trip in the Traveller to Santa Cruz Islands for timbers for this 
church during the year 1817.? 

The nut or pinon pines (Pinus quadrifolia and Pinus mono- 
philla) are very abundant in the mountains of Southern and 
Central California and were sometimes used for structural pur- 
poses. The edible nut of the tree was much used as a food by the 


* Timber for use at the Presidio of San Diego was cut at Monterey in 1793. It was 
sent south upon the Princesa. 
* Bancroft: History of California; II, 360. 





eat. vas x 
-Lime Mortar iS 
BROKEN. Tivet A 
ages DA, DS & 


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ee aS A sreverion - 
~SRN-LVU-REY 





Ti 





ANCIENT CHIMNEY OF TILES 





DETAILS IN CHURCH, CUT-STONE 





CORNER OF PATIO 
MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 


MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION 79 


Indians and was gathered by them as an article of diet in the 
lean years of the early mission period. Today, the pifon, a very 
rich, oily nut, is sold in the markets. 

Oaks of several varieties (Quercus agrifolia, Quercus lobota, 
and others) are found in the foot-hills and valleys and were 
doubtless the source of material for furniture-making. The 
padres, it should be said, usually preferred the soft and straight- 
grained pines and cypresses, if they could be obtained. This is 
borne out by the fact that pinon pine was used at San Antonio de 
Padua although the mission was situated in ‘‘la Canada de los 
Robles ” (oak-studded glen). 

Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) was to be found throughout 
the southern portion of the mission chain and was used at San 
Juan Capistrano and San Luis Rey. Today gnarled and wide- 
spreading sycamores, among the most picturesque of California 
trees, are to be seen along the water-courses of Orange and San 
Diego Counties. 

Tule (Scippus lacustris), and “ cat-tail” (Typha latifolia) 
stems were largely used for thatch roofs in the early buildings. 
These reeds had been utilized by the Indians, and, due to their 
wide distribution, the padres found them an easy material to 
apply. Moreover, the natives were versed in the handling of 
them and could proceed without instruction. In the later build- 
ings the dried reeds were used as laths and for the making of mats. 

Something has been said of the materials at hand; it remains 
now to see how these materials were used. The first temporary 
quarters, hastily built, were little better than brush huts with 
grass-thatched roofs. These were built in the fashion of the 
Indians and never endured long. The earliest of the buildings 
that can really be considered habitations were constructed of 
wooden posts of pine or cypress, set close together and plastered 
inside and out with clay. After the clay had dried the walls 
were treated to a heavy coat of whitewash. Usually this type 
of structure, which might be called the “stockade” form, was 
roofed with poles over which twigs and grass were spread and 
upon these a layer of mud. The mud roofs were never successful 
in keeping out the heavy winter rains, so the Indian method of 
making a thatch of tule was next adopted. Thatch roofs were 


80 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


very inflammable and several disastrous fires were experienced 
before the padres of San Luis Obispo, in 1790, began to make 
burned-clay roofing tiles like those used in Spain. 

These tiles were almost semicircular in cross-section, about 
22” long, and tapered from a diameter of 12” at the large end to 
a diameter of 8” at the small end. The padres followed the primi- 
tive custom of kneading or working the clay in pits under the 
hoofs of animals, then giving it time to ferment properly. The 
tiles were fashioned by making a pat of clay the correct thickness 
upon a flat board and then turning it over a half-round tapering 
“mould ” of wood which was well sanded to prevent the clay 
from adhering. After the cake had been pressed around the 
‘mould ” it was trimmed along the edges, dried in the sun, and 
finally baked or fired in small kilns. Naturally the quality of 
the mission tiles varied with the clays of the different localities 
and with the processes of manufacture. Some specimens are 
very soft and irregular, while others appear as fine examples 
of craftsmanship. 

Where wood was scarce, the making of sun-dried adobe bricks 
was early taken up. The second structure at most of the missions 
was of adobe. The adobe walls, due to the low bearing-power 
of the material, had to be very thick. Many examples are five 
and six feet in thickness and few are less than three feet. As soon, 
however, as a mission was strong and prosperous, the pride of the 
padre usually extended to an ambition to build a church in more 
lasting material, hence stone or burned bricks were employed. 

There were some ingenious systems of construction evolved 
in order to make adobe of practical value, and no system is more 
ingenious than that used at San Luis Rey. The walls here are of 
adobe blocks 8” square and 24” long, which were laid in a 
diagonal pattern with heavy “concrete” joints between them. 
The “concrete” was composed of lime-and-sand mortar com- 
bined with stones and pieces of brick and tile. It is needless 
to say that the bond between a wall of this sort and the stucco 
plaster placed over it would be much stronger than if the plaster 
were applied to a plain adobe surface. 

In many places the walls of adobe were faced with brick 
masonry and thus adequately protected. Frequently lintels of 


MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION 81 


stone or wood and arches of burned brick were used to span open- 
ings in the adobe walls. There are examples also of relieving 
arches of brick built into adobe walls above openings. It was 
generally necessary to span the opening itself with wood, stone, 
or brick, although at San Miguel an adobe arch in an adobe wall 
stood exposed to the elements for years with little apparent 
deterioration. Very frequently brick window or door frames 
were built into adobe walls in the same manner that stone open- 
ings are built into brick walls today. A good example of this type 
of work is to be found in the church at San Fernando. 

The padres displayed a marked originality in the use of their 
simple, flat bricks and tiles, as the charming chimney of San Juan 
Capistrano and the latticed parapet at San Luis Rey will testify. 
The old chimney over the cocina (kitchen) at San Juan Capis- 
trano is especially interesting for its craftsmanlike handling of 
common materials for the production of a picturesque and 
artistic result. 

The introduction of stone completes the evolution. Thus we 
see that, in a few short years, the buildings passed through all 
the stages of pioneer development and use was made of all the 
materials from mud to brick and stone. The ambition to rear, 
even in the wilderness, a worthy temple to the living God was of 
course the motive behind this work, and, had the mission era 
lasted longer, it is safe to say that a vastly finer architecture would 
have resulted by virtue of the fact that these more stable and sus- 
ceptible materials would have found a much wider use. The 
notable stone churches were those at Santa Barbara, San Buena- 
ventura, San Juan Capistrano, San Carlos Borromeo, Presidio 
Chapel at Monterey, and San Gabriel. All of these are standing 
today with the exception of San Juan Capistrano, which was 
ruined by an earthquake. 

The structural systems used in the mission period may be said 
to be of three kinds, namely: the post and lintel, the arch and pier, 
and the truss. Thus the padres used all of the constructive systems 
that, at their time, had been developed. 

Truthfully speaking, there are to be found in the missions no 
real trusses, in the modern sense. Attempts are found here and 
there, but a full accomplishment was never attained, due either 

6 


82 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


to the ignorance of the padres regarding the principles of truss 
construction or the scarcity of iron for tensional members. The 
churches were usually spanned with heavy beams, which often 
carried also the roofing timbers above. In order to reinforce 
these beams, heavy corbels were introduced at their ends. Thus 
it will be seen that the width of the church was always condi- 
tioned by the length of the timbers obtainable, and, as a conse- 
quence, long narrow naves resulted. 

When “trusses ’’ were introduced, they were usually poorly 
constructed, as was the case at Pala Chapel, where, the tensional 
members having been omitted, it was necessary to introduce a 
post at the centre to prevent failure when the full weight of the 
heavy tile roof became effective. The tensional members have 
been supplied in recent years and the posts removed, greatly 
improving the interior of the church. A very crude but neverthe- 
less interesting type of roof is that of San Francisco de Asis, 
where rough timbers bound with rawhide thongs are fashioned 
into trusses. There is a simple but interesting “ trussed beam ” in 
the old “ monastery ” building at San Fernando which recalls the 
system of roof construction used in Japan, where the “ trusses ” 
are made of rectangular rather than of triangular panels and 
where the strength of the “truss’’ depends largely upon the 
rigidity of the joints. In the absence of iron this structure is 
held together with rawhide thongs. 

There was one example of a roof carried upon stone arches, 
but this has long since disappeared. It was in the church of San 
Carlos Borromeo (Carmel). In this example the roof, which 
was of timbers and tile, was originally supported by three arches 
of stone which spanned the nave. The walls, which were rein- 
forced upon the exterior by buttresses opposite the arches, were 
thickened at the top to reduce the span and to make a “ more 
graceful ” transition to the arches. This type of roof construction 
is unique in mission architecture and probably elsewhere. 

A typical example of vault construction was the original roof 
of the church of San Gabriel. Here the nave was covered by 
a simple stone vault relieved by stone arches that sprang from 
the pilasters along the interior walls of the church and were 
abutted by the heavy buttresses of the exterior. This vault, if we 



















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MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION 87 


can judge from the segmental pediment at the west end of the 
church, was very low and hence was easily ruined by the “ quake ”’ 
of 1803, a disturbance which damaged many of the mission 
churches, and which here opened up such serious cracks in the 
vault that it had to be removed and a roof of timbers and tiles 
- substituted. A better vault, so far as structural design is con- 
cerned, is that still standing over the sacristy of San Gabriel. 
It is of smaller span and of greater height and thus has with- 
stood tremors more successfully. 

There are several types of masonry domes (bovedas) in 
California, the chief examples being those of the stone church 
of San Juan Capistrano, where there were originally seven. 
Others still stand over the mortuary chapel at San Luis Rey and 
on the terraced towers of San Luis Rey, Santa Barbara, San 
Buenaventura, and San Carlos. Domes in California varied in 
section from the low bovedas of San Juan Capistrano to the 
elongated egg-shaped dome of San Carlos, the plans varying 
from a circle to an octagon. A very interesting type of boveda is 
that called, because of its hemispherical shape, “‘ media naranja ”’ 
(half orange). A good example of this type is to be found upon 
the baptistry of Mission San Gabriel. It is distinctly oriental 
in form and is a new-world version of the pendentive domes 
of the Persian, Byzantine, and Moorish architects. Simple listels 
mark the intersection of surfaces between pendentives and walls 
and pendentives and dome. 

The architects of the mission structures were, as a rule, the 
padres themselves. In many cases the designer is known; thus 
we are indebted to Padre Antonio Peyri for the design of San 
Luis Rey, to Padre José Antonio de Murguia for the design of 
Santa Clara, to Padres Cruzado and Zalvidea for work at San 
Gabriel, and to Padre Ripoll for much of the work at Santa 
Barbara. Of course, upon occasion, help was obtained from 
craftsmen among the soldiery and artisans sent into the province, 
but, since many of these men remained for short periods, the 
general conception of the work, the direction of the Indians, and, 
indeed, many of the details fell upon the shoulders of the 
padres-in-charge. 

In view of the fact that these buildings were, in most cases, 


88 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


erected by laymen, it seems wonderful that such charming results 
should have been obtained. Almost every padre in responsible 
charge of a mission was fired with an ambition to erect a fine edi- 
fice to the glory of God and as a monument to his zeal, and there 
was considerable rivalry, usually friendly to be sure, between the 
various missions, rivalry not only in the saving of souls, but also 
in the building of temporalities. We may guess with what 
enthusiasm a padre from this or that mission sought, in some 
particular respect, to outdistance his fellows, and with what 
pride he reported his victory at the annual meeting. 

While the training of the padre was that of the priest rather 
than that of the architect, a great veneration for old sacred monu- 
ments was naturally instilled into priests trained in Spain and 
Mexico. And, coming into a new land, the memories of their 
boyhood and the desire to rear a fitting temple to God operated 
to make them dissatisfied with anything less than the best that 
could, under the circumstances, be had. 

That there was little conscious striving after style can be said 
with perfect truth. The padres wrought in the fashion of their 
native land as nearly as that was possible in a pioneer country, 
with poor materials and poorer labor. That the resulting expres- 
sion is simple, sane, and craftsmanlike can scarcely be gainsaid. 
It partakes of the naive qualities of the most primitive architec- 
ture, and, by virtue of its frank, bold masses, its picturesque 
composition, and its simple, rhythmic forms, compels the admira- 
tion of layman, as well as architect, the world over. 





Refectory Chimney, San Juan Capistrano 


CHARTER GV LUI 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 


always necessary to examine its beginnings thoroughly. 

Ancestry counts for a great deal in art, as elsewhere, and the 
mission style of California, especially, had a long line of ancestry 
to influence it. It must not be thought from this statement, how- 
ever, that every feature of mission architecture can be traced 
directly to European antecedents, for that is not true. The influ- 
ence of the country, its geography, topography, and climate, have 
had perhaps as large a part in the development as had ancestry. 
But its ancestry is extremely important; therefore it will be neces- 
‘sary to inquire into the nature of its antecedents. 

In order to make this inquiry we shall have first to consider 
the architecture of Spain; to trace briefly its development; to 
follow the style into Mexico and to discover the character of the 
transplanted style at the time that the California missions were 
erected. This study will serve, among other things, to show that, 
in the field of architecture, one may start with a specific set of 
elements and in the course of a few years come out with an 
entirely different set of characteristics. 

From the earliest times, the Iberian Peninsula was subject to 
invasion by the oncoming peoples from the East. The original 
Iberians were conquered by the Romans, the Romans by the 
Visi-Goths, the Visi-Goths by the Moors, and the Moors, in turn, 
by the combined forces that they had driven northward in their 
advance. Thus we see that Spain has been overrun by peoples 
of various origins, institutions, and standards, each contributing 
to that cosmopolitan civilization which we have for centuries 
called Spanish. 

Ancient Iberic art is represented in the ‘“ cyclopean” walls 
that appear in various parts of Spain, as at Gerona and Tarra- 
gona. These attempts were on a parallel with those masonry 
constructions of the pre-Hellenic peoples of Greece and the 
early peoples of Italy. The race really never developed a nation- 
ality or a culture. 

The remains of Roman monuments of Spain are among the 


89 


[: TRACING the evolution of a style of architecture it is 


( 


go CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


finest found in any province. Hispania is said to have become in 
a short time one of the “ most Roman of the Roman colonies,” 
and Spanish soldiers and emperors of Hispanic origin travelled 
the known world defending the Empire. The aqueduct at 
Segovia and the bridges at Mérida, Alcantara, Salamanca, and 
other places are examples of Roman structural prowess. Roman 
influence cannot be overestimated, for Roman culture served as 
the whole basis of subsequent Spanish civilization. The arch- 
and-pier system of construction, the use of conglomerate walls, 
of round arches and classic details, are striking evidences of 
Roman domination and serve to give Spanish architecture its 
whole Romantic basis. 

The Visi-Goths were primarily a race of warriors and held 
the arts of civilization in contempt. They adopted Roman cul- 
ture in a measure, however, and appropriated Roman luxuries, 
but failed to create anew to fit their needs or wishes. Thus we 
see that the Visi-Goths contributed little, if anything, to the prog- 
ress of architecture in the peninsula. 

The influence of the Moors upon the culture of the Iberian 
Peninsula was also very great. Coming into the country in 711 
and holding ground in Spain for nearly eight hundred years, 
their influence upon the architecture and arts of the country was 
of undoubted magnitude. The influence of their work, which is 
to be seen at its best in their strongholds in the south of Spain, 
reached, at places, far into the north, a fact due, no doubt, to the 
superior education and ability of the Moorish workmen, who 
were frequently employed by the Christians. The influence of 
the Moors is to be traced in practically every style of Spain sub- 
sequent to their appearance in the peninsula, and it is to their 
influence that the Spanish owe that tinge of the oriental so charac- 
teristic of their art. 

The Moors were in no sense constructors; they were deco- 
rators. Consequently they appropriated the constructive princi- 
ples of the peoples whom they subjugated. They had little taste 
for engineering as applied to architecture and therefore did not 
value the construction except in so far as it made possible the 
erection of fields for decoration. Hence they built only lightly 
constructed walls, just stable enough to serve their purpose as 


ANCIENT ROMAN AQUEDUCT, SEGOVIA, SPAIN 
“ROMANTIC, ROUND, RHYTHMIC ARCHES”’ 





CHURCH OF SAN NICHOLAS, SEGOVIA, SPAIN 


92 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


grounds for that decoration. They lavished their ornamentation 
upon the interior of the building and left the exterior walls bare 
and blank except around the openings. Their walls were, like 
Roman walls, a “ conglomerate,” not veneered with marble, as 
had been the Roman walls, but covered with stucco or plaster. 
Their arches and domes were derived from the Byzantine and 
Sassanian architectures of the east and their decorative motifs 
came largely from Persia, Syria, and Byzantium. Thus the 
Moors came into Spain bringing a cosmopolitan architectural 
decorative system, and, finding the Roman remains and the crude 
structures of the Visi-Goths, grafted their art upon what they 
found. The result was the Moorish or Saracenic art of Spain. 

After the victory of Alfonso VI. at Toledo in 1085 assured 
the territory north of the Tagus River of peace from Moorish 
domination, the Castilian cities grew very rapidly, and Alfonso, 
having married in turn four French women, imported French 
architect-monks with them to build churches in these thriving 
cities. Thus the Romanesque was introduced from France. The 
style did not differ greatly from the French Romanesque, as it 
might have done had it been executed by Castilian workmen, 
and appears to have been, so to speak, the transplanted handiwork 
of French architects executed by French workmen to please 
French queens. The style lasted through the twelfth century, 
but gave way to the Gothic, which flourished under Ferdinand 
and Isabella, and, in Spain, is called the ‘‘ Gothic of the 
Catholic Kings.” 

Although the Gothic of Spain is not distinctly Spanish, it is 
in the Gothic that we first sense the awakening of a real national 
expression. It was introduced from the north, as had been the 
short-lived Romanesque, but its importation was not due, in the 
beginning, to royal patronage, as had been true of the Roman- 
esque, but to the fact that the style was early championed by the 
Cistercian Order, the architect-monks of which organization 
introduced it from Burgundy. Thus in the north of Spain we see 
the two great medieval styles—the Romanesque and the Gothic— 
flourishing contemporaneously with the Moorish of the south. 

In spirit the Spanish Gothic followed the French Gothic, 
which was at its highest point of development and popularity at 


DEVELOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 93 


the time. The great cathedrals of Toledo and Burgos, begun 
between 1220 and 1230 and continued during the period, were 
strikingly French in plan. As the Gothic in Spain grew older, 
however, it grew more decorative and ornate, lost much of its 
French flavor and took on a certain cosmopolitanism, due to vari- 
ous exotic influences that were making themselves felt in Spain 
of that day. Thus Burgos Cathedral as it stands today, with its 
cimborio and tracery towers, exhibits German, French, and 
English characteristics. 

Spanish Gothic gained a new impetus after the victories of 
Ferdinand and Isabella over the Moors. The spirit of exultation, 
brought about by the successful campaigns and the accession of 
wealth, fostered a rapid development of architecture. But it 
will not be necessary to trace the intricate changes in the Gothic. 
The later Gothic monuments, modified as they were by Moorish 
decorative influences, became much more florid than the Gothic 
of any other country during the flamboyant period. The decora- 
tion was less constructive in character and more fanciful and 
arbitrary than elsewhere, ‘“‘ but,” says Hamlin,’ “ this very rejec- 
tion of all constructive pretence gives it a peculiar charm and 
goes far to excuse its extravagance.” ‘The arcades of the patios 
‘“were formed with arches of fantastic curves, resting on twisted 
columns,” while the walls ‘‘ were covered with minute carving 
of exquisite workmanship, but wholly irrational design.” San 
Gregorio and San Pablo at Valladolid are typical examples of 
this period. 

The ornate Gothic-Moresque met for a time the requirements 
of the luxurious and triumphant period which followed the 
complete overthrow of the Moors and the discovery of the new 
world. But, due to the employment of the Dutch and Flemish 
artists, the Renaissance style was introduced during the prosper- 
ous period of exploration and discovery. The importation of 
precious metals from the new world gave the arts of jewelry 
and silversmithing a new impulse and they dominated all the 
other arts. The buildings took on an over-ornate appearance, due 
to the minute, detailed, and sumptuous decoration, and hence the 
work of the period is usually referred to as the Plateresque 


*Hamlin: History of Architecture (New Edition Revised) ; 262. 


O4 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


(from platero = silversmith). The classic elements of Italy, 
arriving by way of the low countries, were soon mixed with the 
Gothic-Moresque details, giving us a style characterized by: sur- 
face decoration covering broad areas, elaborate openings, decora- 
tive pilasters, broken pediments and entablatures. 

The early Plateresque lasted from 1500 to 1556, but was 
followed by a reaction led by Herrera and Berruguete, who pro- 
posed to return to classic purity. How well Herrera succeeded 
may be judged from his Escorial. This reaction lasted until 1680, 
when it was followed by that most outlandish of all Renaissance 
styles, the Churrigueresque, named for Churriguera, the cham- 
pion of the vogue. This style admittedly disregarded all archi- 
tectural canons and plunged into a debauch of “ unrefined fancy 
and debased taste.” It prevailed until the coming of the Italian 
designers of the latter half of the eighteenth century marked a 
second tendency toward classical purity and correctness. 

This, then, is the ancestry of the style of architecture that was 
introduced into America with the coming of the Spaniards into 
Mexico. It will be seen that Spain possessed a style less pure 
than those found in other countries. Her architecture, like her 
people, was cosmopolitan. When the Spaniards came into 
Mexico, they began to build in the fashion of their native land. 
Prescott” relates that, within four years after the destruction 
of the pagan city of Mexico by Cortés, a new Spanish city had 
arisen upon its ruins. 

Of course a great change took place in the architectural style. 
The new buildings were erected upon a plan better accommo- 
dated to European habits and taste. They were built of stone 
rather than of adobe, as we might expect in a pioneer country, and 
combined with elegance a solid strength that made them defences 
as well as residences. Prescott * further relates that a missionary 
exclaimed twenty years after the conquest that “ Europe could 
not boast a single city so fair and opulent as Mexico!” Thus we 
see that, at first, little of the Aztec architecture was appropriated, 
but that Spanish forms directly succeeded the native, and thus the 
Spanish-Colonial of Mexico, so far as general form and ensemble 
are concerned, always remained truly Spanish. 


* Prescott: Conquest of Mexico; III, 239, 240. 
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MISSION SAN XAVIER DEL BAC, NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA. FACHADA 





Diy BLOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 99 


As time progressed, however, there was a reaction against 
the strictly Spanish and a tendency in favor of a Spanish-Mexican 
vernacular, and, consequently, a great deal of what might be 
described as “ barbaric splendor ” found its way into the archi- 
tecture of New Spain. This change was due, of course, to the 
gradual training of native artisans and was most noticeable in 
the decorative phases of the buildings. Colonial architecture is 
usually simpler in form and detail than the architecture of the 
homeland, and, indeed, this might have been expected in Mexico. 
This, however, was not true. The Spanish-Colonial of Mexico 
was one of the most elaborate of styles, the buildings often 
transcending in richness of form and detail the monuments of 
old Spain. 

The Spanish-Colonial had one merit not often observed in 
the work of the homeland. This was the frank expression of the 
functional or structural parts. The Spanish-Colonial in Mexico 
was frankly organic in character. A second characteristic, 
derived of course from the Moors and universally noted in Spain, 
was the habit of lavishing ornament at a few prominent points, 
around openings, upon towers, domes, and fachadas, leaving the 
remainder of the walls blank and bare. This use of ornament had, 
to be sure, everything to commend it and served, as is the true 
function of ornament, to direct the attention to and enhance the 
salient features of the building. This method of elaboration finds 
its suggestion in the forms of nature and consequently can be 
defended as being logical and natural. Aside from its placing, 
the character of Mexican ornament was, of course, open to criti- 
cism, hence, critics, who are prone to look at ornament more 
intently than at the general form, are likely to criticize the style 
most adversely. To be sure, the ornament was often illogical, 
generally florid, and even vulgar, but much of this can be 
explained by the fact that native artists, notably stone-carvers 
and sculptors, were permitted not only to execute, but also to 
design, a great deal of the ornament that decorated the churches. 

One of the most important features of Mexican architecture 
is the dome. Mexico is a land of domes. Nearly every village 
has its domed church, and, indeed, the dome often appears 
as a feature of secular as well as of religious architecture. 


100 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Unlike Renaissance domes in other countries, the Mexican are 
almost universally one-shelled domes, either hemispherical or 
“pointed” section. Quite frequently they are covered with 
glazed tiles of yellow, blue, black, and gold, and crowned by 
the inevitable Renaissance lantern. 

The Spanish-Colonial of Mexico paralleled faithfully the 
changes and transformations that were taking place in the mother 
country, except that it lagged behind in point of time. The great 
wealth of the mines, one tenth of the productions of which went 
to the Church, made that institution immensely wealthy and con- 
sequently a great patron of the arts. Thus may be explained 
the great amount of pretentious and elaborate work done at the 
time in Mexico. 

Now while great sums of money and infinite pains were 
expended upon Mexican churches, little or no attention was given 
to the church architecture north of Mexico so far as the royal 
officials were concerned. Any study which the churches received 
was bestowed upon them by the padres-in-charge. The Texan 
and Arizonan churches, however, being in lands more accessible 
to Mexico, caught by reflection some of the splendor of the 
Mexican edifices, and in such structures as San José de Aguayo, 
near San Antonio, Texas (p. 15), and San Xavier del Bac, near 
Tucson, Arizona, provincial as they were, we find the same 
attempt at magnificence, the same decorative fachadas, terraced 
towers, and bare walls. These churches have also, due to the use 
of domes, the same oriental atmosphere that characterizes their 
Mexican prototypes, although the use of glazed tiles did not 
extend into these more northern provinces. 

These two edifices are, on the whole, much more elaborate, 
both in outline and decoration, than either the Californian or 
New Mexican mission churches. Therein, perhaps, lies the chief 
charm of these Franciscan edifices of California; simplicity and 
straightforwardness. The intrinsic quality of good proportion, a 
trait generally characteristic of the work of Mexico at its best, 
is there, while much of the foam and froth of degraded decora- 
tion is absent. Since it was difficult to get artists and artisans to 
come into the country, the padres and the Indians, with humble 
materials and unskilled hands, were compelled to build simply. 


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BUTTRESS, MISSION SANTA INE3 


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CAPISTRANO 


102 


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Ey PLCOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 103 


Thus we are spared much of the degradation of the Mexican 
Churrigueresque. Meeting frankly their problem as they saw 
it, the padres evolved an architecture which, for the country in 
which it was developed, has not been excelled. 

The Californian style is not a decorative style in any sense, 
but a style that makes its appeal through picturesque composition, 
good proportion, and structural frankness. Of course the style 
is Spanish—a provincial variety of the Spanish-Colonial of 
Mexico—but many of the elements that go to make up that 
architecture were here altered to meet the demands of a pioneer- 
ing life in a distant land. Thus, while at places we see the influ- 
ence of the Roman works of Spain, of the Gothic, of the Moorish, 
of the Renaissance or the Classical Revival, the work is always 
unmistakably Californian in spirit. 

The distinguishing features of the California Mission Style 
may be tabulated as follows: 


1. Solid and Massive Walls, Buttresses, etc.: 
All mission structures show these features. 
2. Arcaded Corridors, Arches carried upon Piers, as at: 
San Juan Capistrano, San Luis Rey, San Fernando Rey, 
Santa Barbara, San Antonio, San Miguel, Santa Inés, 
San Juan Bautista. | 
3. Curved Pedimented Gables, as at: 
San Luis Rey, San Gabriel, San Antonio, San Diego. 
4. Terraced Bell-towers with Lantern, as at: 
San Luis Rey, San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, San 
Juan Capistrano (stone church). 
5. Pierced Campanarios (wall or tower), as at: 
(a) Wall—San Gabriel, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Inés. 
(b) Tower—Pala Chapel. 
6. Patio with Fountain or Garden: 
At practically all of the missions a patio was built or 
eventually projected. The best examples are San Luis 
Rey, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Barbara, San Juan 
Bautista. 
7. Broad Undecorated Wall Faces: 
All buildings. 


104 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


8. Wide Projecting Eaves: 
All buildings. 

9g. Low-pitched Red-tile Roofs: 
AU buildings. 

Solid and massive walls were used in practically all of the 
buildings. They were due, most probably, to two causes, the 
first of which was the influence of the materials. The construction 
of thin walls was absolutely impossible in adobe or the poor stone 
available to the padres. The second was the time-honored Fran- 
ciscan habit of building heavy, embattled, and austere edifices, a 
habit which they did not modify in California. 

Many of the mission churches have buttresses, which served 
two purposes, namely: the stiffening of high and long walls and 
the abutment of the lateral thrusts of arches, vaults, or domes. 
Most of the vaults and domes have long since disappeared, thus 
leaving the remaining buttress with little to do, a circumstance 
which has led to the adverse criticism of such churches as that 
of San Gabriel. The buttresses are sometimes uniform in plan 
throughout their height, as at San Gabriel or Santa Barbara. 
Often, however, they are of the “ offset ’’ variety, as at Santa 
Inés, San Buenaventura, or San Carlos. 

The arcaded cloisters found in the old buildings are directly 
traceable to Spain. At this time, however, it was customary in 
Europe to support the arches of an arcade upon columns of 
varying proportions. The use of these heavy square piers was 
the result of a simplicity enforced by the scarcity of fine stone 
for making columns, and the scarcity of good craftsmen to exe- 
cute them. Arches and piers of the simple Californian type, how- 
ever, are frequently seen in the simpler patios of Mexico. 

The curved and pedimented gables are a distinctive and 
unique feature of the style. Details of similar idea, but of 
inferior design, because of the weakness and indirectness of the 
curve, are to be found in the Texan, Arizonan, and Mexican 
churches. The Californian detail has perhaps no exact precedent 
in Spain, although gable-ends with stepped and curved transi- 
tions are to be found in German, Dutch, and Flemish cities. 

It must not be concluded that there is any very striking 
resemblance between the Dutch curved gables and those of Cali- 


105 


CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO, GUANAJUATO, 


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DEVELOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 1o9 


fornia. It is reasonable to think, however, that the idea of this 
detail might have been brought into Spain through the influx 
of Flemish and Dutch architects, or as a result of early Renais- 
sance Dutch-Spanish intercourse, and thus transplanted, through 
Spain, to Mexico and California. The idea supplied, it became 
the function of the Spanish-Colonial designers to appropriate 
it to their uses. This they did with the result that out of it was 
developed a feature entirely different from any of its precedents. 

The terraced bell-tower is a feature found upon many of the 
churches of Mexico and the Hispanic United States, but the 
tower used in California is peculiar to California and resembles 
in no sense the towers of Texas, although it bears some resem- 
blance to those of San Xavier del Bac (Arizona). Good exam- 
ples of the California variety are to be found at Missions San 
Luis Rey, San Buenaventura, and Santa Barbara. These towers 
are similar in form but vary in detail. In each of these examples 
the feeling is more or less classic. Of an entirely different 
variety, however, is the tower of San Carlos, which, by virtue of 
its egg-shaped dome, has a peculiar oriental flavor. 

Another feature of California which claims attention, because 
of its naive simplicity and its design possibilities, is the pierced 
belfry, the examples of which vary more than any other detail of 
the style. The design is entirely original as far as the missions of 
California are concerned, but the idea, like that of the terraced 
bell-tower, is to be found at Missions San Francisco de Espada 
and San Juan Capistrano near San Antonio, Texas, and in such 
good Mexican examples as the Sanctuario de Guadalupe, Guad- 
alajara. The pierced belfry of San Gabriel is perhaps the best 
known, while the free-standing campanario (belfry) of San 
Antonio de Pala is the only example of a pierced belfry used as 
a separate tower. 

Having been introduced into Spain by the Moors, the patio 
is an old Spanish feature and one admirably adapted to the mis- 
sion layout. It is found in the private dwellings of most of the 
Mediterranean countries and dates back to the earliest times in 
warm climates. It serves to bring to the western hemisphere 
something of that charm of the old world always associated 
with the cloistered garden of the European monastic institution. 


I1O CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Some of the patios were entirely enclosed, as at San Luis Rey and 
Capistrano; others never reached that complete stage. At nearly 
every mission, however, one was projected. It was an attribute 
that served a very utilitarian and, at the same time, an admirable 
artistic purpose in unifying the plan. 

The broad, undecorated wall faces are a feature of practically 
all of the missions. That idea has its precedent in the Moorish 
practice of lavishing the decoration upon the interior and at 
salient points upon the exterior, but leaving most of the outer 
surfaces blank. In California the scarcity of workmen operated 
further to curtail the use of decoration, so that in most of the 
buildings the decoration is restricted to the fachadas of the 
churches. This scarcity of workmen, one is persuaded to believe, 
operated in favor of sound design, and led to a saner architecture 
than would otherwise have been the case. 

The wide-spreading eaves and low-sloping tile roofs are 
features of California architecture that seem to have come from 
the domestic structures and convents of old Spain. The churches 
in Texas, Mexico, and Arizona do not have the sloping roofs 
figuring in the perspective, and the wide-spreading eaves of 
California are, in these lands, replaced by a somewhat classic 
cornice. These, however, are only two of the many differences 
between the Californian and other varieties of the Spanish- 
Colonial in America. The low projecting roofs are directly trace- 
able to the effect of the climate, being chargeable to the heavy — 
rainfall and brilliant sunshine of California. 

Perhaps the most versatile of all mission features are the doors 
and the windows. These vary from a plain unjambed opening 
with semicircular or elliptical head to the ornate doorways of 
San Luis Rey, Capistrano, San Fernando, and San Carlos. The 
doorway of the old monastery at San Fernando is at once a well- 
proportioned and appropriate form of opening, while the door- 
ways in the sanctuary at Capistrano are more involved but no less 
tasteful. The first is of stuccoed brick, the latter of cut stone. 
Perhaps the most ornate of all mission doorways are those in the 
transepts of the Presidio Chapel at Monterey. On the whole the 
window openings are of less interest than the doorways. They 
were many times barred with iron or wooden grilles. An attempt 


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DiSVELOPMENT OF MISSION ARCHITECTURE 113 


was made in the mission churches to carry out the idea of a deco- 
rative window over the entrance, a feature that would correspond 
to the wheel or rose windows of Continental churches. 

Many stone and brick details are to be found throughout 
the mission chain, ranging in variety from the moulded-brick 
corbels, niches, and pilasters of San Luis Rey and the cut-stone 
pilasters of Capistrano to the quaint fountains of San Fernando 
and Santa Barbara. All of these display a mingling of Span- 
ish and Indian motifs and a crude, though lovable, variety 
of craftsmanship. 

Upon the interiors of the old buildings are to be found many 
crude wall paintings. These were done for the most part by the 
Indian neophytes or by chance artists who visited the coast. Most 
of the attempts are done in bold, crude reds, blues, browns, and 
yellows, and do not deserve to be called art. Columns, pilasters, 
and balustrades were often painted upon the walls with an 
attempt to give the church the appearance of being larger than 

it really was. 
. With this architectural heritage and these general character- 
istics in mind, let us now begin our pilgrimage to the old mis- 
sions themselves, where we may examine in detail these venerable 
churches, worthy monuments to a laudable religious zeal and the 
architectural expression of one of the most interesting social- 
service movements in the span of American history. 





Old Window 
San Juan Capistrano 


CHAPTER IX 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 


ALIFORNIA was born at San Diego, and here, in July, 
(> 1769, was begun the first of that long series of Spanish 
settlements that, connected by the famous old highway, 
EI] Camino Real, was to extend eventually to San Francisco Bay 
and beyond. “ First’? Mission, as it is still called at San Diego, 
was established upon an eminence back of ‘ Old Town,” * now 
known as Presidio Hill but called ‘“‘ Cosoy ” by the natives. The 
mission was named in honor of Saint James of Alcala, an Andalu- 
sian Franciscan who lived from 1400 to 1463 and was canonized 
in 1558. Saint James was revered for his pious and devoted life, 
and for the miracles wrought by him, rather than for any high 
position that he held. 

Mission San Diego was maintained at “ Cosoy ” until August, 
1774, when it was transferred, some two leagues up the San Diego 
River, to a spot now generally called ‘‘ Mission Valley.” At the 
time of Padre Serra’s first report in 1773, considerable work 
had been done toward the erection of a church at the Presidio 
Hill site. This work had been suspended due to non-arrival of 
the supply-ship of 1773 and no further labor was expended upon 
structures at this place. The church thus appears to have been 
only begun when the buildings were turned over to the military 
authorities upon the removal of the mission to the new site up 
the valley. 

This first site was a magnificent location, affording, as it did, 
a clear view of the harbor, Point Loma, and the open sea, but it 
had not a sure water-supply and was open to frequent Indian 
attacks. For these reasons it was abandoned in favor of the more 
adaptable spot up the river, two leagues to the northeast. The 
presidio, however, was maintained at Cosoy for many years after 
the mission was removed. In July, 1913, upon the one hundred 
and forty-fourth anniversary of the foundation of the mission, 
a group of San Diego citizens excavated the ancient site and 
recovered enough fragments of the original building materials— 
bricks and tiles—to form, when incorporated with the cement in 


*“ Old Town” was the original Spanish San Diego. The modern city is to the east 
and south of “Old Town.” 


114 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 115 


which they were set, a great cross of masonry to commemorate 
the site of the first mission. 

By the end of 1774, the mission could boast the following 
Briuctutes, a wooden church © x 19 varas * (17 x $3 feet) ; padres’ 
house; granary, house for shepherds and muleteers, blacksmith 
shop, fourteen Indian houses, and corrals for horses and cattle. 
The church was decorated with one set of the Stations of the 
Cross and had an ample altar. 

The story of the first Indian attack upon the settlement has 
been related elsewhere. In November, 1775, San Diego suffered 
a second attack, when the neophytes and wild Indians, about eight 
hundred in number, stormed the establishment in the night, set- 
ting fire to the buildings and attacking the inhabitants. The attack 
was made about one o’clock in the morning of the fifth, and, as 
a result, a corporal and three soldiers of the guard were wounded 
and Padre Luis Jayme, José Urselino, the carpenter, and José 
Manuel Arroyo, the blacksmith, were killed. Father Vicente 
Fuster awoke, and, seeing the buildings on fire, escaped to the 
soldiers’ barracks, where he found refuge, but Padre Jayme fear- 
lessly went among the Indians with the hope of quelling their 
angry passions. He had time only to utter the words, ‘“‘ Amar a 
Dios, hijos!”” (Love God, my children) when he was seized and 
hastily dragged to the river, where, stripped to the waist, he was 
beaten with clubs and shot through with arrows, dying almost 
immediately. While this was going on the soldiers got their 
muskets into action, and, although they succeeded in killing many 
of the Indians, the battle lasted until dawn, when the natives 
retreated, carrying their dead with them. 

While the attack lasted, neither was the fire seen nor the gun- 
shot heard at the presidio. This indicates that the guards were 
asleep, and, as a consequence, no aid was sent to the languishing 
mission, and, indeed, the presidial officers appear not to have 
known of the attack until morning, when a tame Indian was dis- 
patched thither to carry the news. 

The buildings were reduced to ashes, the books and records 
were destroyed, and the censer and chalice were melted down in 
the heat of the flames; the padres therefore took up residence at 


? The vara—z2.78 English feet. 


116 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the presidio until such time as a new beginning could be made at 
the mission site. 

As soon as the news reached Captain Rivera, comandante at 
Presidio Monterey, he started southward, reaching San Diego on 
January 11, 1776. Padre Junipero desired to go with him, but, 
as the Captain wished to make the journey in all haste, the padre 
could not accompany him. The Captain, with thirty soldiers, 
reached San Diego in company with Lieutenant-colonel Juan 
Baustista Anza, who was conducting a party of colonists from 
Sonora to San Francisco Bay. Padre Pedro Font, chaplain of 
the Anza expedition, accompanied them to San Diego, and his 
carefully kept diary gives full pictures, not only of the Indians, 
presidio, and mission, but also of the characters of the various 
persons concerned, especially that of the despicable Rivera, who 
excused the negligence of the sleeping guards but vented himself 
upon Lieutenant Ortega, who, although in charge at San Diego, 
was absent at the time, having accompanied Padre Lasuén north- 
ward to establish San Juan Capistrano. The story of Rivera’s 
difficulties with the padres and of his excommunication has been 
told in Chapter III. His ugly frame of mind led him to hinder 
rebuilding of the mission structures by the refusal of a guard and 
and by dilatory action upon matters in connection with rebuilding 
that required his attention. 

Time wore on with little accomplished and at last, in the 
following June, Padre Serra, having reports regarding the inac- 
tivity at San Diego, decided to go south. Arriving at San Diego 
upon the San Antonio, the resourceful Padre-presidente immedi- 
ately undertook the restoration of the ruined mission, and to this 
end enlisted the aid of Captain Choquet of the San Antonio, who 
promised the help of himself and crew so long as they should 
remain in port. The Captain, a pilot, the mate, and twenty 
sailors, together with fifty Indians, soon reported at the mission 
and began the preparation of foundations and the making of 
adobes. Rivera presently handicapped the work, however, by 
withdrawing the guard of five soldiers he had reluctantly 
granted. At the same time the San Antonio set sail for San Blas 
and thus the work was again arrested. 

In September, however, twenty-five additional soldiers were 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 117 


sent up from Mexico to strengthen the presidio and Viceroy 
Bucareli instructed Rivera to give the padres an adequate guard 
and set free the Indian prisoners who had been held since the 
revolt at the mission. 

Padres Lasuén, Fuster, and Serra soon made the buildings at 
the mission habitable, and Padres Lasuén and Figuer took charge, 
ready to proceed with a further retrieving of their temporal and 
spiritual fortunes. Padre Serra and Fathers Magartegui and 
Amurrio were then free to proceed with the refounding of 
Mission San Juan Capistrano, the accomplishment of which had 
been interrupted by the revolt. 

The first annual report of Mission San Diego, compiled by 
Padre Fuster in March, 1777, permits one to form some notion 
of the state of the structures and their furnishings at that time. 
The chapel was as yet unfinished because of the lack of supplies. 
The padres’ house consisted of two small apartments of adobe, 
tule-roofed, with an additional room for a refectory, all very 
meagrely furnished and containing among other things a “ Life 
of San Diego ” and two volumes of the writings of the Venerable 
Luis of Granada. In addition there was a granary in which was 
kept a scanty amount of supplies, most of which had been donated 
by Mission San Gabriel. This structure, like the rest, was of 
adobe, tule-thatched. Other structures were: the kitchen, dormi- 
tory for the young men and boys, and a harness room, the first 
of which contained a large iron kettle for making pozole (a kind 
of mush made from corn) and three copper kettles, some plates 
of pewter and Guadalajara ware, and other utensils. 

During the year 1777 most of the old buildings were repaired 
and a new church of adobe with a roof of thatch was erected. 
The church was 5 varas wide by 20 varas long (14x 56 feet). 
In addition to these improvements a corridor was constructed 
along the front of the padres’ house and store-room, and a shelter 
for the lambs was provided. During the year there were received 
from Mission San Carlos several used chasubles, a missal, a set 
of silver cruets, and several religious books. Padre Junipero 
himself sent a new silver ciborium, and from Mexico came new 
silver oil-stocks, a Roman ritual, and a number of welcome addi- 
tions to the library. To these fixtures must be added a great 


118 








ae Fe ey . ca: REE os a 


BELL, MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA RESTORED CORNER, SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 119 


number of miscellaneous articles and supplies sent by the sister 
missions. However, the crops this and the next year were so 
scanty that the padres, disheartened, applied for permission to 
return to their college in Mexico, but decided, after receiving 
encouraging letters from the Father-guardian in Mexico and the 
Padre-presidente in California, to remain in the “ vineyard of 
the Lord.” 

The work of building a more satisfactory church edifice 
occupied the year of 1780. This structure, 5% x 30 varas (15 x 84 
feet) inside and 5% varas high, had adobe walls three feet thick. 
An addition, 11 x 15 feet, served as a sacristy. The beams of the 
roof were of pine and the rafters of poplar covered with alder 
and tules. The church had four windows, all of which were pro- 
tected outside by means of grilles of cedar and provided inside 
with shutters, and two doors, one at the end and one on the side 
toward the patio. The cemetery lay on the northwest side of the 
building, while along the patio side extended a shelter carried 
upon posts of oak. The church is said to have been very neat and 
ample for that day. 

Just how much was done the following year (1781) is not 
quite plain, due to the absence of reports, but Padre Lasuén, in 
his report of May 10, 1783, listed the following buildings: 
church, granary, storehouse, house for sick women, shed for oven 
and firewood, two small padres’ apartments, larder, guest-rooms, 
hato or shepherd’s lodge, harness room, kitchen, and refectory. 
These buildings, together with the soldiers’ quarters, filled three 
sides of a square of 55 varas (153 feet), the fourth side of which 
was closed by a wall of adobes three varas high with a ravelin a 
little higher. Outside were a fountain for tanning hides, two 
adobe corrals for sheep, and one for cows. 

The decade of 1783 to 1793 was apparently one of increasing 
material wealth at San Diego for, in 1793, it was necessary to 
erect a granary 24 x 96 feet to contain the crops. In order to guard 
against fire, tile roofs were adopted in place of the more inflam- 
mable roofs of tule-thatch. In 1794 extensive repairs were made 
and one side of an enclosure to surround the mission grounds 
was completed, while the vineyard, already growing nicely, 
was enclosed with 500 yards of adobe wall. 


120 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


In 1795 work was begun in order to make available for use 
upon the mission farms the water of a spring that the padres 
had discovered. The location of the spring is now lost to us, and 
how far it was developed would be hard to discover. The great 
effort of the padres to supply irrigation to the farms came in the 
nineteenth century, the opening year of which brought drought 
and a consequent want of grain at the mission. From then on 
until 1817 the fathers were busily engaged in making available at 
the mission the water of the river impounded by a dam some 
three miles above the mission-house. 

The dam was constructed of stone, was some two hundred and 
twenty-four feet long and thirteen feet thick, and was provided 
with the necessary flood-gates. From the dam an aqueduct of 
tiles, resting upon a foundation of stone boulders, laid in cement 
and carrying a stream of water two feet wide and one foot deep, 
was conducted down the precipitous gorge of the river to the 
mission lands. ‘The remains of the old dam, built at this time, 
are still to be seen at a point some ten miles up the valley from 
‘“Old Town,” where it stands as a monument to the engineering 
ability of these early advocates of irrigation in a land where 
‘“water is the god of the harvest.” 

The last year of the eighteenth century was a busy building 
year at San Diego. During the year a guard-room for the escolta 
and one for the corporal of the guard, together with a store-room 
for the iron implements and utensils, and a structure (37 x 67 
feet) the uses of which we do not know, were erected. By this 
time also the mission was beginning to reap some benefits from 
viticulture, the report of Padre-presidente Lasuén for 1801 
recording that Mission San Diego, together with San Juan 
Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, and 
San Luis Obispo, raised grapes and pressed some wine. Mission 
San Diego, it should be pointed out, pressed her first wine about 
1797 or 1798. The raising of olives and the pressing of oil came 
soon after, the Padre-presidente mentioning the making of “‘ some 
very good olive-oil”” at San Diego by 1803. 

The earthquake of 1803, which wrought such havoc at San 
Gabriel and other places, damaged only slightly the church at 


*Engelhardt: Mission San Diego; 154. 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 121 


San Diego, yet in 1808 Padre Sanchez, in writing to Governor 
Arrillaga, mentions the beginning of a new church edifice. This 
was the structure of which only the fachada and a few remnants 
of the lateral walls remain. This church, five years in the 
building, was dedicated November 12, 1813, the day of the 
titular saint. 

The story of the dedication of the new edifice is simply told 
in the words of the padres taken from the Baptismal Register of 
the mission.* “On November 12, 1813, the day of the glorious 
San Diego, this, his holy church was blessed with all appropriate 
formalities and solemnities. The Rev. Fr. José Barona officiated 
at said function, he being the missionary of the Mission of San 
Juan Capistrano. He blessed the edifice and celebrated the High 
Mass on said day. The first sermon for the solemnity was 
preached by the Rev. Fr. Geronimo Boscana, missionary of Mis- 
sion San Luis Rey de Francia; and the second sermon, on the 
occasion of the translation of the bodies of the Rev. Mission- 
aries ° who had served .. . . and died here, was preached by the 
Rey. Fr. Tomas Ahumada, Dominican Father and missionary 
of Mission San Miguel, Lower California. Don Francisco 
Maria Ruiz, heutenant of cavalry and commander of the Pre- 
sidio of San Diego, served as sponsor at the dedication, the resi- 
dent missionaries of said mission being Fathers José Sanchez 
and Fernando Martin.” 

Thus it will be seen that San Diego—the Mother Mission— 
was late in obtaining a satisfactory architectural expression, and 
to Padre Sanchez * we must attribute the design of this church. 
He was the superior and guiding spirit of the mission during the 


* Ibid; 160-1. 

® The bodies of the padres here referred to were those of Fr. Luis Jayme, killed 
during the Indian attack of November, 1775; Fr. Juan Figuer,, who died at the Mission 
December 18, 1784; and Fr. Juan Mariner, who died here January 29, 1800. The remains 
of these missionaries had once before been moved. This was in 1804, when they were 
deposited beneath the pavement of the church of that day. 

*°Fr. José Bernardo Sanchez was born September 7, 1778, at Robledillo, Spain, and 
became a Franciscan October 9, 1794. Leaving Spain in February, 1803, he reached 
his college in Mexico in August, and came to California in 1804. He served at San Diego 
(1804-20), at Purisima (1820-21), and at San Gabriel from 1821 until his death, on 
January 16, 1833. ‘“‘ From 1827 to 1831 he held the high position of president, performing 
its difficult duties with great credit. . . . He was an able manager of temporal 
affairs, and took great pride in the prosperity of his mission, being greatly disappointed 
and perhaps soured by the disastrous results of secularization, against which he had 
struggled in vain.”—Sugranes: The Old San Gabriel Mission; 68. 


122 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


period of the church building and may therefore be regarded 
as the architect of the structure. 

San Diego has never made much claim to architectural dis- 
tinction. The plan, while complete and well worked out, was not 
distinctive. The buildings, as usual, were disposed about a patio, 
the church here, as in many other places, forming one side of 
that patio. The monastery wing extended at right angles to the 
church along another side of the quadrangle, while the less 
important rooms, like workshops and storehouses, were disposed 
along the two remaining sides, with corrals and pens, orchards 
and gardens, flanking these. The church, together with the build- 
ings at its rear, have been carefully excavated and there is little 
doubt as to the ground-plan. 

The fachada of the church, with its pleasant and graceful 
curved pediment, was of course the most interesting architectural 
feature of the whole group (p. 27). It has been the inspiration of 
at least one modern church, that of the Immaculate Conception 
in Old Town. The upper portion of the tower has completely 
disappeared and some doubt exists as to its original form. Some 
believe that it was a pierced belfry similar in idea to the writer’s 
restoration of the San Gabriel campanario, while others hold that 
it was of the terraced type similar to San Luis Rey or Santa 
Barbara. The writer, after a recent careful examination, sees no 
reason to adopt the pierced in preference to the terraced type. 
The old painting now hanging in Saint Joseph’s rectory, San 
Diego, and purporting to represent the mission as it looked about 
1840, certainly indicates the terraced type of tower. 

Originally there seems to have been a shelter over the front 
entrance of the church. This feature, while unique as far as its 
treatment here is concerned, finds an echo in the narthex at San 
Luis Obispo or the vestibule at San Antonio de Padua. The 
pockets into which fitted the ends of the beams of this shelter can 
still be seen in the ancient adobe walls. 

A single bell, and that not the original, although made up of 
the metal of some of the original bells, is still in place atop the 
ruins of the old tower. Its legend runs thus: 


“ MATER DOLOROSA: ORIGINALLY CAST IN NEW SPAIN 1796; 
RECAST IN SAN DIEGO, CAL., 1894: STANDARD IRON WORKS.” 


AA 


ee [oust bes 8 et pee 


SH bes 





MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA, FROM AN OLD PAINTING 





CHURCH OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, “‘OLD TOWN”’’, SAN DIEGO 


124 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Two other bells now hang in the belfry of Immaculate Concep- 
tion Church at Old Town. The smaller has no inscription but 
the larger carries the legend: 


“Sx, JVAN NEPOMUCENO AVE MARIA PURISIMA 1802.” 


The history of the bells is obscure but we learn something of 
them from the following newspapers. The San Diego Sun for 
October 15, 1891, informs us that the bells of San Diego, of which 
there were originally six, were cast at San Blas (Mexico) in 
1791 and 1802. They were mentioned in an article setting forth 
the intention of sending the bells to Baltimore for recasting. The 
San Diego Union of October 22, 1891, had this to say regarding 
the bells: 

“The restoration of the San Diego Mission, the first of the 
chain of stations established by Padre Junipero in Alta Cali- 
fornia, when this region was a province of Spain, it has become 
widely known, is a cherished ambition of Rev. Fr. Ubach. His 
first move is to have the ancient bells recast, and only a day or two 
ago was this desired permission received from Bishop Mora of 
Los Angeles. ‘wo have been in the uncompleted brick church 
at Old Town. One, which is badly cracked, hangs with a sound 
companion on the uprights at the west end of the Old Town 
Chapel. This will be brought in and the one now used at the 
Indian School substituted. Two more are at St. Joseph’s in this 
city and the sixth one has been sent up from the United States 
military barracks by Col. Brayton, who knew by legend that the 
military had no right to it, and had first made use of the bells 
years ago when they were without a bugle. These bells are 
believed to be largely of silver, and they will be shipped in a few 
days to a firm in Baltimore to be melted down and recast into two 
bells only. Speaking of the accepted belief that they had come 
from Spain, Fr. Ubach informed the Union yesterday that he 
discovered very recently, in looking through the mission records, 
quite to his surprise, that they had been cast instead at San Blas, 
State of Jalisco, Mexico.” 

The intentions of the enthusiastic father regarding the bells 
and the mission structures were never carried out, and there the 
mission stands to this day, an utter ruin. All human life is gone, 


THE MISSION OF SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 125 


only a few old trees of the once thriving olive orchards live on, 
and here and there a lonely palm stands silhouetted against the 
sky. But in spite of all the ruin, as long as a vestige remains or 
memory can recount her ancient glory, the Mission of San Diego 
must remain very beautiful and interesting to those who love her 
historic and romantic story. She was the Mother Mission; all 
fevetence to her! 





Old Spanish Light House 
Point Loma, San Diego 


CHALE TREX 


MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA 


to sainted kings. One was Mission San Fernando, Rey 

de Espana, the other Mission San Luis, Rey de Francia, 
the largest of the California establishments, and, with one excep- 
tion, that of San Juan Capistrano, easily the finest of the missions. 
California had likewise another Mission San Luis, named in 
honor of San Luis, Obispo de Tolosa (Saint Louis, Bishop of 
Toulouse), hence it is always necessary to say San Luis Rey or 
San Luis Obispo as the case may be. 

San Luis Rey was Louis IX. of France (1214-1270), a man 
who stands in history as the ideal medieval king. His con- 
temporary, Sire John de Joinville, speaks of him as “ every inch 
a king.” He was ahead taller than any of his knights, “ physically 
strong in spite of his ascetic practices, fearless in battle, heroic 
in adversity, of imperious temperament, unyielding when sure 
of the justness of his cause, energetic and firm.” He is said to 
have fasted much, to have loved sermons, regularly attending 
two masses a day and all the offices. He did many good works, 
visiting the sick, giving to the poor, and building hospitals. He 
was canonized in 1297 on account of his crusades to Egypt and 
the Holy Land. 

Mission San Luis Rey is situated four miles east of the town 
of Oceanside, which is on the coast-line of the Santa Fé Railway, 
some thirty-five miles north of San Diego and in San Diego 
County. The mission proper stands upon a slight eminence over- 
looking the San Luis Rey River valley, while twenty-five miles to 
the northeast lies its asistencia (chapel), San Antonio de Pala. 
The foundation was first projected in October, 1797, when Padre- 
presidente Lasuén promoted the exploration of the district 
between Missions San Diego de Alcala and San Juan Capistrano 
and found that the territory contained a large number of docile 
and industrious Indians. The only apparent drawback to the 
situation was its poor agricultural advantages. In spite of this 
disadvantage, however, the governor, in February, 1798, issued 
orders for the comandante of Presidio San Diego to furnish an 

126 


(): THE missions of Alta California two were dedicated 


MISSION SANSLUIS SREY DE FRANCIA 127 


escolta to the padres and to require of the soldiers personal labor 
in the construction of the mission buildings. Thus on June 13th 
of the same year Padre Lasuén, in the presence of the guard, some 
neophytes from the sister Mission of San Juan Capistrano, and 
great numbers of Indians, and assisted by Padres Santiago and 
Peyri, dedicated the establishment to Saint Louis the King. 

The mission, due to the friendliness of the natives, flourished 
from the first, and within a week the energetic Peyri had baptized 
seventy-seven children and had made a start upon the mission 
buildings. By the end of the year the neophytes numbered two 
hundred fourteen souls, while two years later the mission records 
show a population of some 337, at which time the number of 
horses, mules, and cattle was 617, the number of sheep, 1600, and 
the grain gathered, 2126 bushels. The great prosperity of the 
establishment was largely due, no doubt, to the popularity and 
energy of Padre Antonio Peyri, who, from the time of foundation 
until 1832, a period of nearly thirty-four years, was padre- 
in-charge. 

Padre Peyri was born January 10, 1765, at Porrere, Catalonia, 
Spain, and received the habit of Saint Francis in the convent at 
Reus in October, 1787. He sailed from Cadiz in May, 1795, and, 
passing through Mexico, arrived in California in July, 1796. 
He served at San Luis Obispo for two years and became, in 1798, 
as we have seen, one of the founders of San Luis Rey, at which 
establishment he was destined to spend the remainder of his mis- 
sionary days. In 1826 he petitioned to be relieved of administra- 
tive labors upon the ground that he was an old man and no longer 
qualified for the heavy duties required of him. He was even- 
tually relieved, and, having been granted some $3000 in back 
stipends due him, sailed from San Diego, in 1832, for Mexico 
and Spain. The story goes that he was so much beloved by the 
neophytes that he was compelled to leave the mission secretly 
in order to avoid the cries and grief of the Indians, and that, 
when it was discovered that he had departed, some five hundred 
neophytes hastened to San Diego to prevent his departure. We 
are told that they arrived in time to see his ship weigh anchor and 
to receive his blessing as the ship sailed out of the harbor. 

Padre Peyri was a model missionary in every respect. Like 


128 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


most Catalonians, he was frugal, sharp-witted, and industrious; 
had a great deal of national pride and a strong revolutionary 
spirit. hese characteristics asserted themselves when the Span- 
ish government was overthrown in the colonies and the Mexican 
established. A thorough Spaniard always, he resented the action 
of the Mexicans and at first refused allegiance to the new govern- 
ment. He had likewise the characteristic energy of the Catalo- 
nians and their love of enterprise. 

The chronology of San Luis Rey serves to show with what 
eficiency and speed the directive energy of Padre Peyri func- 
tioned. The mission was established in June, 1798, and by the 
end of that year a guard-house and temporary chapel, together 
with houses for the padres and corporal of the guard, all of 
adobe and roofed with thatch, had been built. The next year saw 
the completion of a convento for the girls, a house for the boys, 
a weaving-room, a wool-storage room, and two other buildings. 

In 1801 tile was adopted as a roofing material. These tiles 
were made in the kilns of the mission and were similar to those 
that had been in use in California since about 1790. During the 
year a large granary was completed, and the next year, 1802, saw 
the beginning of the first church, which is said to have been 138 
feet long and 19 feet wide. Four apartments, 5 x 11 varas, were 
also completed. By the end of 1804 the padres reported the com- 
pletion of four additional granaries (6 x 20 varas), and, about 
this time, the patio was enclosed and two large brick tanning-vats 
and a large soap caldron were completed. 

The year 1806 saw the erection of a large monjéria (nunnery) 
for the girls with a patio of its own, 72 x 45 feet, which communi- 
cated with the larger “ patio de la mision.”’ During the year 
also a great corral, some 350 feet square, with housing accom- 
modations for the herdsmen, was completed. The year 1808 was 
given over to further additions and enlargements of the existing 
structures around the patio, making the wings of the same height 
as the main buildings. —Two more corrals and two spring-houses 
were erected. 

The growing development of grain-raising in the Pala Valley 
made necessary the construction of a granary there in 1810, while 


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MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA IT 


the flourishing vineyard at the mission also required the build- 
ing of an enclosure. 

With many of the utilitarian structures completed, Padre 
Peyri now saw his way clear to turn his hand to the construction 
of a new and adequate church, and, in 1811, made plans and laid 
the foundations for the present edifice. The work progressed 
rapidly and by the end of 1812 the walls were up to the cornice 
line. During the next year a new wing was added to the main 
row of buildings, while an arcaded corridor was built along the 
fachada of the mission-house. The patio arcades were also begun 
during the year, and, by December, these were about half com- 
pleted and most of the materials for the finishing of the church 
had been collected and were ready for use. 

In 1814 the church (p. 106) was continued and the next year 
it was completed and dedicated. In 1818 the Pala Chapel, built 
in 1816, was lengthened and an apartment for the boys and men 
and one for the girls and women were added. After this few 
reports of building activities are heard until 1829, when the dome 
at the crossing was reported as finished and the church as com- 
pletely decorated. The dome is described as supporting an 
octagonal lantern decorated by eight columns and lighted by one 
hundred and forty-four panes of glass. The vestment cases 
in the sacristy were also reported as completed this year. As 
late as 1832 additions to the sacristies and church figure in the 
reports, but beyond that time little or no work of importance 
was accomplished. 

The plan of San Luis is not unlike that of other mission 
structures. It more nearly resembles, however, the plan of San 
Juan Capistrano, the next mission northward, than that of any 
other. We find here a large patio completely surrounded by 
buildings with arcaded cloisters, a church partially isolated from 
the centre of the workaday life, with a cemetery at the right, 
all of which resembles the disposition of these same features at 
Capistrano. At the centre of the patio originally stood a fountain, 
remains of the brick base of which can still be seen. Near this 
fountain stands the remains of what is conceded to be the original 
pepper tree of California. (See Chapter V.) 

The church of Mission San Luis Rey was one of two cruci- 


132 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


form plans in Alta California.” The other was the great 
stone church of San Juan Capistrano, completed in 1806. The 
plan consists of a nave, 163 feet long by 27 feet 6 inches wide, 
with transept arms at right and left (24'7” by 15’6” and 24’7” 
by 15’2” respectively), making room for two side altars. The 
lateral walls of the nave, some six feet in thickness, are relieved 
upon the interior by pilasters which divide them into five bays. 
Doors at either side of the sanctuary lead into the sacristies. A 
door in the central bay of the nave, upon the right-hand side of 
the church, leads into the mortuary chapel, its companion on the 
left into the patio. From this patio, by means of an outside stair- 
way, one reaches the choir. The doors under the choir-loft lead, 
at the right, up the tower-stair, or, at left, into the baptistry. 
The nave is lighted by windows placed high in the lateral walls 
and the lantern at the crossing. 

Although the church is among the best of the Californian 
structures, both in size and design, it must be considered as 
incomplete. The left tower, which, according to any normal 
development, called for a treatment similar to that of its neighbor 
at the right, lacks its belfry. It seems almost certain that Padre 
Peyri proposed originally to complete this tower to correspond 
with the other, and, indeed, Duflot de Mofras, attaché of the 
French embassy at Madrid, who made a tour of the missions 
in 1841, shows in his book (“ Exploration du Territoire de 
l’Orégon, des Californies, et dela Mer Vermeille,” Paris, 1844) 
a drawing of the mission with both towers complete. It has been 
argued that, since the tower is not provided with a stairway, it 
was never intended for a bell-tower. But it must be remembered 
that at Santa Barbara we have but one stairway for the two 
towers and that, in order to get to the opposite tower, it is neces- 
sary to cross the church by means of the steps behind the pedi- 
ment. On the other hand, at San Luis Rey a stairway from the 
court west of the church gives access to the choir through the 
upper story of the left tower. From this upper story ascent may 
easily have been made to the projected campanario. That there 


* The present church of Monterey was changed to a cruciform plan after the mission 
period, while the present apparent cruciform plan of Mission San Juan Bautista resulted 
from a blinding of the arcades between the nave and the side aisles. 


133 


SIDE PORTAL AND STAIRWAY 





MISSION 


SAN LUIS REY 








DE FRANCIA 


CUPOLA AND ROOF 


134 


TAdVHO AUVALUOW AGNV AYALANAD 


VIONVUd Ad Ada 


SINT NVS NOISSIN 


NOILVUOLSAY AAMOAAA ‘OILVd CANINA 





MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA 135 


are many mistakes in the Mofras drawing and that it certainly 
was not drawn upon the ground is evident, but, that there was an 
intention at the time which looked toward ultimate completion of 
the second tower, can scarcely be gainsaid. 

A feature of the church, now much changed, is the lantern at 
the crossing (p. 106). The original lantern, described in the 
mission reports for 1829, at which time it was built, was much 
smaller than the present one, which was erected in the nineties. 
In contrast to the present form, the roof of the transept originally 
intersected that of the nave, and, at the intersection, stood a simple 
octagonal lantern, crowned by a low pyramidal roof. The 
lantern was carried upon a low dome over the crossing, which 
did not figure in the external expression. The form was unique 
in mission architecture, and, since it was the only lantern in the 
whole mission chain, it marked San Luis Rey as among the 
most advanced of the structures. 

The fachada of the church (p. 106), the towers, and cemetery 
wall, portions to which, perhaps, the chief interest of the exterior 
attaches itself, are admirable examples of brickwork, and, indeed, 
the writer believes that at no mission has better use been made of 
brick. The fachada, which consists of a rectangle flanked by 
towers and crowned by a curved, pedimented gable, which in 
turn carries an interesting arch and cross, is relieved by the main 
portal, enclosed by simple pilasters and mouldings, flanked by 
niches, and surmounted by a circular window which lights the 
choir. Aside from these “‘ elements” the fachada is a simple 
stuccoed wall, but each and every one of these “ elements” is 
interesting enough in design and skilful enough in execution to 
merit our study. The fachada, we may be sure, was designed in 
advance by a practised hand, as all the features—mouldings, 
niches, corbels, and bands—are of brick, moulded for the particu- 
lar situations in which they were placed. 

These and other features in and about the mission point to 
the conclusion that one man was responsible for it all. After the 
statement of Duhaut-Cilly, a French visitor at San Luis Rey in 
1827, who says of the mission, ‘‘ The buildings were drawn on a 
large and ample plan, wholly the idea of the Padre; he directed 
the execution of it, in which he was assisted by a very skilful man 


136 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


who had contributed also to the building of those at Santa 
Barbara,’ we must conclude that the general composition was 
the work of Padre Peyri, while the delightful details may have 
been executed by the “ very skilful man ” who helped him. 

Although San Luis has been seriously criticized, because of 
the lack of the second tower, when seen from the correct aspect 
there is no better example of interesting and picturesque compo- 
sition anywhere in the mission chain than that presented by the 
fachada, campanario, and cemetery wall. The campanario is one 
of the most graceful of the “ terraced” type, being handsomer 
than those of either Santa Barbara or San Buenaventura, the 
towers most nearly resembling it. It has inspired much modern 
work, and, since its appeal is due almost entirely to its excellent 
proportions, is indeed a feature worthy of much study. 

The interior of San Luis Rey is scarcely as interesting and 
original as the exterior. The ancient square floor tiles have been 
replaced by a modern concrete floor; a modern ceiling hides the 
open timbers of the roof, while a modern brick dome crowns the 
crossing. In our photograph (p. 137) will be noted the wooden 
‘arch’ supporting the choir, the shell-headed door at the left, 
the distemper decorations upon the walls, and the ancient wooden 
pulpit. This old pulpit, sometimes ridiculously said to have an 
oriental origin and to have been brought from Constantinople, 
was constructed in the mission carpenteria (carpenter shop) and 
resembles one which still exists in Mission San Gabriel. It is 
approached by a flight of steps cut into the wall behind it and is 
reached from the left arm of the transept. The pulpit has lost 
its ancient canapé (canopy), although the wooden beam that sup- 
ported that canopy is still in place. 

The interior pilasters of the church are similar in detail to 
those of the fachada, while the doorways into the sacristies and 
baptistry are identical in design with those of the main and side 
portals (p. 133). The altars, like the other details, are executed 
in burned brick and plaster. One of the most naive bits to be 
found in the mission is the baptistry, the font of which, in its 
simplicity, resembles those found in out-of-the-way country 
churches of Norman England. 

Without doubt one of the most interesting bits of mission 


HOUAHO AO UOIMALNI ‘VIONVUA AG AAU SINT NVS NOISSIW 








MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA, SIDE ALTAR AND PULPIT 


139 





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MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA. MORTUARY CHAPEL 


MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA I4I 


architecture extant is the mortuary chapel of San Luis Rey. The 
chapel consists of an octagonal apartment with a rectangular 
sanctuary opening from it. Both are roofed with low domes of 
brick. The chapel proper is lighted by segment-headed windows 
high in the walls, while the sanctuary is lighted by circular 
windows similar to that of the fachada. The altar, with its curved 
and “ broken ” pediment and its classic columns, all executed in 
brick and plaster, is as elaborate a piece of work as one finds 
among the missions of California, the detail being excelled only 
by the intricate work at San Xavier del Bac, Arizona (p. 98), 
and San José de Aguayo, Texas (p. 14). Winding stairways in 
the walls lead to an outlook over the altar, where, in the old days, 
watchers stood guard to see that the relics of the dead were not 
disturbed. At its height, in full color and gilt, with candles 
burning and incense-perfumed, this little chapel must have pre- 
sented a beautiful and awesome picture. 

The church of San Luis Rey has often been called the most 
perfect of the Californian buildings. Of those existing at the 
present time it is certainly the most harmonious in all of its 
details, but, incomplete as it certainly is, it can scarcely hope to be 
rated above the old stone church of San Juan Capistrano, which, 
in the writer’s opinion, was the finest church in the California 
chain. That it was a very comfortable and beautiful place in its 
prime we may readily believe upon reading the description of 
Duhaut-Cilly, who says: 


“At the right-hand side of the exterior facade rises the church, with its bell- 
tower encircled by a double range of piers in moulded terraces. The facade of 
this edifice is plain and without peristyle, but the interior is richly but tastefully 
decorated. A beautiful and attractive little cupola crowns the little chapel and 
Fray Antonio delighted in showing the good taste which he had displayed in 
decorating it.” 


The gardens, the traveller especially praises. 


“The great gardens and orchards, with numberless fruit-trees and well 
cultivated, supply abundant vegetables and fruits of all sorts. A view of the 
wide and convenient stairway that leads to the orchard at the southeast put me 
in mind of the conservatory of citrus fruits at Versailles, not because the material 
was as precious or the architecture as grand, but because there was some simI- 
larity in the disposition, number, and proportion of the steps. At the foot of the 
stairway are to be seen two beautiful lavatories in stucco. One of them is a 
basin in which the Indians bathe every morning; the other is used for washing 
linens every Saturday. A part of the waste water runs off into the garden, in 


142 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


which numerous conduits furnish continual moisture and freshness. The second 
orchard, being on higher ground, is irrigated by artificial means. A vertical 
wheel with scoops, moved at intervals by two men, elevates the water in time 
of need. These orchards grow most excellent olives and provide the finest grape 
wine in California. I took a sample of this wine with me and still have it. It 
has a taste like that of the Paxaret and a color like that of the Porto purgato.” ? 


After the overthrow of the Spanish régime mission prosper- 
ity waned, and, two years after Padre Peyri left his beloved mis- 
sion, San Luis Rey was secularized and turned over to Captain 
Pablo de la Portilla, as comisionado, and Pio Pico (later 
governor), as administrator. In 1843 Governor Micheltorena 
restored the mission to the padres, with Father Zalvidea, who had 
been a model administrator of temporalities at Mission San 
Gabriel from 1806 to 1826, in charge. Padre Zalvidea was, 
however, now advanced in years and no longer fit for service 
under such adverse circumstances. The mission temporalities 
had suffered tremendously under secularization, and, under 
restored missionary rule, they failed to recover. 

The mission is now in the hands of the Church and has been 
since 1865, when President Lincoln signed the title-deed return- 
ing the properties to the Catholic Church. In 1892 two Mexican 
priests, the Rev. J. G. Alva, Commissary-general of the Francis- 
cans in Mexico, and Rev. D. Rangel, a member of the former 
Missionary College of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Zacatecas, 
Mexico, asked permission to restore the old buildings and to 
establish here a novitiate for the training of young men for the 
Mexican priesthood. Bishop Mora granted permission for the 
restoration and got authority from Rome for the establishment 
of the novitiate. The mission was thus rededicated to the work 
of the Church, May 12, 1893. 

The Franciscan fathers who came to conduct the school were 
all from Zacatecas, and, since they were unaccustomed to the 
English language and American ways, Rev. Fr. Joseph J. 
O’ Keefe, O.F.M., was summoned from Santa Barbara to acquaint 
the fathers with the language and manners of the country and 
to supervise the restoration of the mission structures. He 
remained here for nineteen years, making considerable progress 
in the restoration program. Father O’Keefe was succeeded by 


* Duhaut-Cilly: Viaggio Intorno al Globo; I, 45. 


MISSION SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA 143 


Father Peter Wallischeck, former rector of Saint Anthony’s 
College, Santa Barbara, who came in August, 1912. 

Father Wallischeck, during the first year of his administra- 
tion, formulated plans for the establishment of a ‘‘ day-school’’ 
for the children of the neighborhood. His plan was looked upon, 
at first, as one of doubtful success, but by July, 1913, he had 
induced the Sisters of the Precious Blood of Maria Stein, Ohio, 
to investigate the matter, with the result that they took charge of 
the day-school and in addition instituted a high school, both of 
which are in flourishing condition today. In the meantime 
restoration work under Father Wallischeck proceeded, and the 
present superior, Rev. Fr. Dominic Gallardo, O.F.M., is con- 
tinuing the work as funds are available. 

The present school quarters cover about one-fourth of the area 
of the ancient patio, none of the arches of which have been dis- 
turbed. All of the work of restoration is being done after the 
primitive fashion by the lay-brothers and novices. The church 
has been repaired and redecorated, the cemetery walls rebuilt, 
and the gardens and orchards rehabilitated, so that the establish- 
ment presents at the present time the appearance of a prosperous 
monastery, more Spanish than American. 








Ancient Indian Fresco Decorations around Niche 
in Wall of Nave 
San Antonio de Pala 





CATA Bele Rae 


THE ASISTENCIA OF SAN ANTONIO DE PALA 


F THE mother mission of San Luis Rey we have read in 
() the preceding chapter. Let us now make a side trip to 
the little asistencia of San Antonio de Pala. San Antonio 
is the most interesting of all the chapels in the mission chain and 
one known very well because of its unique and beautiful cam- 
panario. The establishment was made by Father Peyri in 1816 in 
order that the padres of San Luis Rey might serve a large number 
of Indians who dwelt in the section. The chapel is situated in a 
beautiful little mountain-hemmed valley skirted by the San Luis 
Rey River, some twenty-five miles northeast of the mission. ‘The 
valley, by some thought to resemble a shovel (pala), really takes 
its name from the Indian term meaning water and hence the 
chapel, dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, became San 
Antonio de Pala. The situation is one of the most secluded of any 
of the Spanish church sites in California, and, being in the back 
country and off the railroad, is wild and rugged. During mis- 
sion days the chapel was reached by a narrow trail that wound, 
paralleling the stream, up the river valley, but today this primi- 
tive road, a branch of El Camino Real, is replaced by a fine stone 
road, a part of the San Diego County highway system. 

Within two years after the foundation at Pala, the population, 
made up for the most part of Pauma Indians, had reached a 
thousand souls. It is said that the community was one of the 
happiest and most satisfactory of all the mission establishments. 
The Indians, intelligent, hard-working, and pastoral in disposi- 
tion, were good craftsmen and much attached to their native 
valley. The chapel has, in recent years, been made the centre for 
the Palatingua Indians, who were moved thither from Warner’s 
Hot Springs by the United States Government. Thus the Indians 
have been returned to their native home, after having been 
driven away by homesteaders at the time of the American occupa- 
tion of the country. 

During the time that the lands were held by the whites, the 
Indians remained faithful to San Antonio and came miles to 
worship the saints and keep intact the decorations and relics. 


144 





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VIEW FROM THE ORCHARD, BEFORE RESTORATION 


CAMPANARIO 


SAN ANTONIO DE PALA 


Molo VENCIATOISSANCANTONIO DE PALA 147 


For years no priest was in residence, but whenever services 
were held by a visiting priest, a large congregation of Indians, 
gathered in from the highways and byways, were in attendance 
to greet him. 

The establishment of Pala, coming, as it did, late in the mis- 
sion period, accounts for the incomplete working out of the plan. 
It is evident that the intention was, eventually, to have the well- 
known patio arrangement, as three sides of the patio were, in the 
beginning, enclosed by buildings. The cemetery stands at one 
side of the church, as at the missions, the only variation from the 
typical layout being the placing of the campanario, which here 
stands detached from the church. 

The church, like those of most of the missions, was not orien- 
tated. The main entrance was at the south, the high altar at the 
north. The sacristy was at the rear, while wings extended west- 
ward from either end of the church for the formation of the 
future patio. The south wing is still standing, and, now restored, 
serves as the priest’s house; the north wing has completely dis- 
appeared. ‘The square thus defined. was enclosed upon its west- 
ern side by an adobe wall and at the rear of the square was 
originally a corral for the domestic stock of the establishment. 

The buildings were constructed of adobe, made upon the 
ground, plastered inside and out and whitewashed. The roof is 
of red tiles, made and burned, most likely, in the kilns of San 
Luis Rey, as were, no doubt, the floor tiles, which are of the 
square, red variety, so common among the missions. The footings 
for the walls were of granite boulders from the washes of the 
river. The roofing timbers were of sycamore, obtained anywhere 
along the banks of the San Luis Rey. The piers of the porch in 
front of the chapel were of adobe, plastered, as were also the 
cemetery gateway and walls. 

The belfry, which forms the most interesting ane feature 
of the ensemble, stands upon a base of granite boulders set in 
cement and consists of two arches of burned brick, one above the 
other, four feet thick and plastered with a heavy stucco. A cross, 
now of wood, but originally of wrought iron, surmounts the 
tower, which, due to its height and its situation, makes the emblem 
of salvation visible from almost any part of the little valley. 


148 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


The campanario still contains the two original bells, swung 
by rawhide thongs from sycamore beams that are in turn 
imbedded in the masonry. The lower bell is very interesting and 
came from the shop of the famous bell-founder, Cervantes. The 
legend upon one side of the bell runs thus: 


“STUS DS STUS FTIS STUS IMMORTLIS MICERERE NOBIS 
AnfeDes Lorton ark. 
‘Ll hateiss 


“ Holy Father, Holy, Most Mighty One, Pity Us. 
Year of Our Lord, 1816. Jesus Redemptor.” 


On the other side occurs this legend: 


‘N.P.S. SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS. SAN LUIS REY. 5 TASCA 
EULALIA NTRA LUZ CERVANTES NOS FECIT.” 


Which is to say: 


“Our Patron Saint. Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Louis the King. Saint Clara 
Eulalia Our Light. Cervantes made us.” 


The upper bell, simpler and smaller, carries this inscription: 
“SANCTA MARIA ORA PRO NOBIS” 
Which means: 
‘Holy. Mary, Pray for Us:” 


The base of the campanario, which now forms a portion of the 
cemetery enclosure, originally stood within the enclosure. It 1s, 
however, more effective as it now stands, especially from the 
outside. From the cemetery side a flight of eleven masonry steps 
leads up to the top of the podium and the bells are rung from 
this level by means of ropes attached to the clappers. All mission 
bells were rung in this way, instead of being swung by a wheel, 
as are our present-day bells. The belfry is a unit in itself and as 
interesting a bit of architecture as the mission chain contains. 

The chapel’s main interest lies in its interior, and even here its 
interest has been largely diminished by the obliteration of the 
ancient Indian wall frescos by an unsympathetic priest who 
covered them with whitewash. Our photograph of the interior 
(p. 145), taken many years ago, will serve to give some idea of 
the decorations in the sanctuary, where we find a niche flanked by 
two false niches painted upon the wall. All the decorations, in 
red, browns, yellows, black, and white, were executed by the 


ASISTENCIA OF SAN ANTONIO DE PALA 149 


Indians. It will be noted in the photograph that the altar rail, 
as well as the walls, was decorated in distemper. This rail of 
flat “ balusters” was probably fashioned in the carpenteria of 
Mission San Luis Rey. The interesting door at the left, leading 
to the sacristy, was also doubtless built at San Luis Rey. 

Pala, like the larger establishments, has had its vicissitudes. 
Upon secularization the chapel, like the mother mission, passed 
into the hands of a notoriously unscrupulous and unprincipled 
comisionado. The cattle and sheep were sold off, the Indians 
scattered, and the buildings allowed to fall into disrepair. Within 
twenty-five or thirty years the ruined old chapel and its incom- 
parable campanario were practically all that was left of this 
once busy hive of industry, peace, and happiness. In the early 
nineties, when investigation as to the condition of Pala was made 
by the Southern California Historical Society, the properties 
were found to be in the possession of a Mr. Viele. But how 
came Mr. Viele into possession of these properties? Professor 
Frank J. Pooley, past president of the Historical Society, pub- 
lished the following statement of the facts in 1893: 


‘““Years ago, when times were different and the mission was making some 
pretence to be a living church, in the course of their duties a party of government 
surveyors came here. As a result of their surveys one of them told Mr. Viele in 
confidence that the entire mission holdings, olive orchards and lands, were all 
on government property. Mr. Viele at once took steps to claim all, and he did 
so. ‘The secret leaked out, and others came in and attempted to settle on parts 
of the property under various claims of title, and soon the Catholic Church and 
the claimants were engaged in a long lawsuit, which proved the death struggle 
to the Church interests. Mr. Viele emerged victorious, sole owner of the church, 
the orchard, the bells, and even the graveyard. Afterward, by deed of gift, he 
gave the Church authorities the tumble-down ruin of the church, the dark adobe 
robing-room, the bells, and the graveyard, but because Mr. Viele still withheld 
the valuable lands from the Church, no services are held there and the quarrel 
has gone on year by year. Mr. Viele clings to what he terms his legal rights, 
and the church is locked up and the Indian left largely to his own devices.” 


Professor Pooley paints a desolate picture of the church at 
the time he visited it. He says: 


“The church is a veritable curiosity, narrow, long, low, and dark, with 
adobe walls and heavy beams roughly set in the sides to furnish support for the 
roof. . . . The earthen walls are covered with rude paintings of Indian 
design and of strange coloring that have preserved their tone very well indeed. 
Great square bricks, badly worn, pave the floor, and set in deep niches along the 
walls at intervals are various utensils of battered copper and brass that would 


150 





SAN ANTONIO DE PALA. THE RESTORED CHURCH 





SAN ANTONIO DE PALA. TOWER AND CEMETERY GATE 


oto PEN GUASOLS DS NeANTONIQ DE PALA i151 


arouse the cupidity of the collector of bric-a-brac. ‘The door is strongly barred 
and has iron plates set with large rivets. The strange light that comes through 
the narrow windows and broken roof sheds an unnatural glow on the paintings 
upon the walls and puts into strange relief the ruined altar far distant in the 
church. Three wooden images yet remain upon the altar, but they are sadly 
broken and their vestments are gone. 


The chapel remained in very much the same condition 
described by Professor Pooley until the fall of 1901, when the 
Landmarks Club of Southern California, headed by Charles F. 
Lummis, made an investigation of the state of the premises and set 
in motion a movement to restore the structure. Mr. Lummis, with 
architects Hunt and Benton, constituted a committee appointed 
to report upon the condition of the edifice and the feasibility of 
its repair. This committee found the structural parts of the 
chapel in good condition and reported that, although the roof 
and tower had been damaged by a recent earthquake, the walls 
were generally in such a condition that restoration would not be 
extremely difficult. 

Many of the natives were interested in the restoration plan, 
and at a meeting held at the village store, many pledged money 
and others labor toward the proposed work. In the next two 
years the most pressing repairs were made. The chapel and the 
adjoining apartments were reroofed. This meant not only the 
removal and replacement of the fine old tile roof, but it meant 
also the strengthening of the trusses which carry the roof. In 
doing this the ugly posts that had marred the interior were 
removed and the trusses were strengthened by the supplying of 
tensional members, which the original builders, either for lack of 
the understanding of truss-building or for the want of iron, did 
not supply. The walls of the church were repaired and the adobe 
piers carrying the corridor roof completely restored. The ceme- 
tery gate and fence as well as the campanario were given slight 
but needed repairs, and a deed to the property was obtained from 
Mr. Viele and in turn transferred to the rightful owners, the 
Catholic Church of California. Thus Pala was once more in 
condition for the services that had so long been neglected. 

It was very unfortunate that the priest sent to minister unto 
the Indians had no sympathy with the old Indian decorations of 
the interior, for, in the obliteration of these frescos by means of 


152 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


whitewash, he destroyed a fine series of interesting human docu- 
ments which can never be replaced. With the restoration of the 
chapel and the return of the Indians to Pala Valley the old 
church opened a new period of usefulness and is today the parish 
church of the happy little Indian community. 

But one more event in the architectural history of the chapel 
remains to be told and this concerns the charming old cam- 
panario. In January of 1916 a terrific storm swept the coast 
country of Southern California, and, as torrents of rain fell in the 
hills, many of the streams left their banks. Pala Valley, situated 
as it is, was particularly open to attack by such a storm. Pouring 
floods from the San Luis Rey swept the little valley, and the 
campanario, standing directly in the path of the current, came 
in for a terrific battle. On the afternoon of January 27, the 
waters having undermined the footings, the belfry fell forward, 
breaking into several pieces. By this event it was discovered for 
the first time that the base, which every one had assumed to be of 
solid stone masonry, was of adobe faced with the granite boulders 
imbedded in cement. That it had stood for an even century and 
performed faithfully under all ordinary circumstances argued 
well for the constructive ability of the fathers; that it should fail 
in the face of a flood does not in the least detract from their fame 
as builders. 

Father Doyle, the resident priest, immediately sent out an 
appeal for help in the rebuilding of the tower, A fund of $600 
was raised, while the Indians contributed labor. By April the 
tower was practically restored, and on Sunday, June 4th, the 
campanario was rededicated to the service of God. The old 
materials were practically all used and the structure is as near an 
exact duplicate of the old as it was possible to make it, with but 
one exception. In the restored tower the base has been made of 
solid concrete faced with granite boulders instead of the adobe 
that was originally used. Thus it is doubtful whether Padre 
Peyri himself would suspect, were he to return, that anything had 
happened to his belfry. 


CHAPTER XII 


MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 


‘ S THE train from Los Angeles plunges through the broad 


expanse of the Rancho San Joaquin, past acre upon acre 

planted to beans, the passenger to San Juan Capistrano 
finds himself being gradually surrounded by foot-hills. Pres- 
ently he is hurled through a great gap in the hills and finds him- 
self shut in completely. But on and beyond, upon a slight 
eminence, stands the ruins of what was perhaps the most glorious 
attempt at church-building during the Spanish period of Cali- 
fornia. While he marvels at the expanse of white wall and red 
tile roof, the station is announced in that urgent voice that indi- 
cates that passengers had best make hurried steps in order to get 
off the train. The passenger grasps his camera and sketch-pad 
and by the time he gains the aisle, the decreasing velocity of the 
train rushes him headlong toward the vestibule. 

Once off the train, he turns about, seeking a way out of the 
station, which is arcaded after the fashion of the mission cloisters. 
Soon he finds himself outside the crowd of Mexicans and half- 
breeds and on the way up the neglected street leading to the 
centre of municipal activity, a section that can scarcely be digni- 
fied by the name of business section. On one hand a sign upon 
a wooden building of recent date announces the service of the 
‘““Mission Restaurant.” On another one observes a long row of 
whitewashed adobe buildings which serve as business places, and 
labelled “store,” “ meat-market,” and until recently, “ saloon.” 
Mexicans—men and boys—lounge lazily in the sunshine or as 
lazily come and go, while ranchers in boots and sombreros ride 
galloping here and there. These are almost the only traces of 
modernism, however, for the place is still largely inhabited by 
Spanish-speaking people, so that here the atmosphere, which is 
so distinctly American about most of the mission-houses, savors 
still of the old Spanish régime. 

The padres could scarcely have chosen a more beautiful spot. 
Hemmed in in nearly every direction by the low-lying foot-hills 
and guarded to the eastward by the Santa Ana Mountains, with 
“old Saddleback ” silhouetted against the deep-blue summer sky 


153 


154 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


or lightly mantled with a shimmering crown in winter, the mis- 
sion is particularly well protected. Some hundred yards below 
the mission the waves of the Pacific battle eternally with the 
rocky cliffs and waft cooling breezes up through the little valley 
in the heated days of summer. Thus the climate and situation 
could scarcely be equalled in Southern California. The soil, too, 
is wonderfully fertile, and, in modern times, the old mission 
lands have been divided into pleasant and productive orchards 
and ranchos. 

In this beautiful, mountain-hemmed valley the Mission of 
San Juan Capistrano was founded November 1, 1776—the year 
of American Independence—by Padre Junipero Serra, assisted 
by Padres Pablo Mugartegui and Gregorio Amurrio. San Juan 
Capistrano was the seventh link in the mission chain, and an 
attempt at foundation had been made in October of the year 
before, when Padre Fermin de Lasuén of San Diego had erected 
a cross and celebrated mass in a hut of boughs. However, a week 
after ground was broken, news came of an Indian uprising at San 
Diego and the bells were hurriedly buried, while Father Lasuén 
and his handful of guards returned to San Diego to await a more 
favorable opportunity. Father Serra found the cross erected by 
Padre Lasuén; the bells were unearthed and the Padre-presidente 
celebrated the mass on the feast-day of All Saints in the presence 
of the accompanying padres and the escolta of eleven soldiers. 

Mission San Juan Capistrano was named in honor of an 
Italian Franciscan, theologian, and inquisitor who lived between 
the years of 1386 and 1456. He was born in the little town of 
Capistrano in the Abruzzi, after which he is called. The early 
part of his career was secular. He married and became a suc- 
cessful magistrate. He took part, however, in the continual 
struggles of the small Italian states and finally was forced to com- 
promise himself. During the resulting captivity he was ruined 
financially and lost his young wife. Sorrowing and in despair, 
he entered the Franciscan order and gave himself up to the most 
rigorous asceticism. As a legate and inquisitor he persecuted 
heretics in many cities and countries, especially the followers of 
John Huss in Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia. His last cru- 
sade was against the Turks (1455). Although a vigorous and 


MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 155 


militant inquisitor, he found time to write much and to promote 
various reforms in the order of minor Franciscans. He was 
canonized in 1690. 

From the beginning the mission was prosperous and by 1786 
there were 544 in the settlement. In 1800 there were 17,000 
sheep on the mission pastures and crops amounting to 6300 
bushels were gathered. In 1794 two large granaries with tile 
roofs were built. ‘These were probably the buildings at the north- 
east corner of the patio, now in ruins. Serious setbacks were 
encountered, but reverses in one way and another were met with 
a fresh zeal and a renewed spirit. In March, 1801, through the 
carelessness of one of the servants, a storehouse was set on fire 
and 2400 bushels of grain and six tons of tallow were lost, to say 
nothing of the loss of the buildings themselves. But the adobes 
made good fire-walls and a fire was usually confined to the build- 
ing in which it originated. 

The materials used in the construction of the mission were 
adobe, sandstone, limestone, wood, iron, brick, tile, mortar, raw- 
hide, and tule and cat-tail stems. The walls of the shops and 
houses are of adobe, from two to seven feet in thickness. Sand- 
stone was used for lintels in the buildings and as skew-backs and 
keystones in the brick cloister arcades. ‘The great church, its 
sacristy and baptistry, were entirely of sandstone, which was 
quarried at a point about six miles northeast of the mission. This 
stone is of two sorts: a fine-grained yellow variety, laid at random, 
used for walls and domes, and a blue-grey variety used for the 
door and window jambs and the interior cut-stone details. 

The tiles and bricks for the construction of walls, arches, and 
pavements, as well as the roofing-tiles (p. 70), were made just 
north of the mission, where remnants of the kilns may be seen 
to this day. The limestone for making the lime was quarried near 
the present town of El Toro, away ten miles to the north. It was, 
no doubt, burned near the tile-kilns just north of the mission. 
The wood used was sycamore and was cut and brought down 
from Trabuco Canon or from the slopes of ‘“* Saddleback ” Moun- 
tain, twenty miles to the northeast. 

The plan of San Juan Capistrano was that of the typical 
mission establishment. Here, as elsewhere, the practical require- 


156 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


ments demanded, for the sake of supervision, accessibility, and 
safety, an arrangement around a patio. This patio, supplied with 
water, was large enough to contain all the neophytes and movable 
property in case of trouble with hostile Indians. That the layout 
was admirably adapted to the needs of such a community the 
reader will agree when he studies the plan. The patio has no 
two sides of the same length, as will be noted upon the plan 
(p. 53). This was due, probably, to the fact that the padre-in- 
charge paced off the distance between piers and placed sixteen 
arches upon a side regardless of their spans. At the southeast 
corner of the patio (p. 78), one of the arch spans is strikingly 
short. There were originally four openings into the court: one 
at the north, a wagon entrance; one at the southwest corner, the 
gate, which has long since disappeared; one at the south, the 
zaguan (vestibule) ; and one on the east connecting the patio 
with the smaller court and padres’ garden. When the mission was 
at its height, the patio presented, doubtless, an appearance ever of 
varicolored activity. 

If the patio was the centre of the private life of the mission, 
the centre of community life was localized upon the plaza. Here 
were the priests’ quarters, the major-domo’s house, guest-rooms, 
and soldiers’ quarters. A little court between the great church 
and the padres’ house served as a place for meditation and rest, 
and upon this opened the door of the sacristy of the stone church. 
At the rear of the church was the adobe-walled cemetery. 

Probably one of the first of the existing buildings to be 
erected was that portion along the east side of the patio known 
as Serra’s church. This, an adobe building 120 feet long and 17 
feet wide, was the first permanent chapel of the mission. The 
sanctuary was at the north end, the choir-gallery, reached by a 
stairway of brick still intact, at the south. This building was 
used from the time of its completion, about 1777, until September 
7, 1806, when the great stone church was dedicated. It was then 
abandoned, but after the destruction of the stone church by an 
earthquake in December, 1812, it was again put into use and 
served as the church for the mission and community until about 
’ 1890, when the small community was forced to abandon it in 
favor of a portion of the mission in better repair. At this time 


ONVULSIdVO NVAL NVS NOISSIN 


AUVALONVS GANINAU AHL 


SHHOUV NANO 











DOOR OF SANCTUARY 


SANCTUARY 


MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 


MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 159 


the former padres’ house (p. 111) was occupied as the place 
of worship. 

In February, 1797, work was begun on the great church. Just 
who was responsible for the conception and plans, it would be 
difficult to say. From the list of padres of San Juan Capistrano we 
know that the priests in charge during the period of building of 
the great stone church were: Padres Vicente Fuster, Juan 
Norberto de Santiago, and José Faura. 

Padre Fuster, who was at the time an old man, had been at 
the mission from 1779 until 1787 and again from 1789 until his 
death in 1800. The church was begun, it will be seen, only three 
years before his death. It is to be supposed that a man of ripe 
years and experience undoubtedly would have been consulted 
regarding the plans for the edifice, and it is almost to be con- 
cluded that the great size and general magnificence of the build- 
ing is due to his ambition to see a great church erected at the 
mission to which he had given so much of his life. When, in 1789, 
Padre Fuster returned from Mission Purisima Concepcion, 
which he founded and administered for two years, Padre Juan 
Norberto de Santiago, a priest who had arrived in Mexico from 
Spain in 1785, was assigned to Capistrano with him. Although 
Padre Santiago had been at San Francisco during the years 
1786-1787, his only regular ministry in California, since he left 
the province in 1811, was at San Juan Capistrano. 

When Fuster died in 1800 his place was filled by Padre José 
Faura, a native of Barcelona, who had spent two years at San 
Luis Rey (1798-1800). Padre Faura remained at San Juan 
Capistrano from 1800 until October, 1809, but it is to be supposed 
that Padre Santiago, an older man, was naturally the superior. 
Padre Fuster must have matured plans for the building of the 
great church which were subsequently carried out by Padre 
Santiago, who lived to see the church dedicated in 1806, but who 
left the mission before the destructive earthquake of December, 
1812. The padres in charge at the time of the church’s destruc- 
tion were Barona and Sumner. 

Now, although the padres mentioned doubtless inspired and 
directed the work of church-building in a general way, the actual 
supervision of the practical details was delegated to a “ master 


160 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


mason,” who, according to Bancroft,’ was “obtained from 
Culiacan”’ in Mexico by Arrillaga, Governor of California 
(1800-1814), who reported the fact to the Viceroy January 11, 
1799. The work, begun in February, 1797, was carried on continu- 
ously for nine years, the church being completed and dedicated 
on September 7, 1806. The blessing of the edifice, attended by 
the important civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the province, 
was one of the noteworthy events in early Californian history. 

The church was in use for only six years, for on December 8, 
1812, while the first mass was in progress, an earthquake occurred 
which wrecked the tower and one of the domes over the nave. 
Bancroft and other writers, following him, say that the tower 
fell down upon the kneeling worshippers. Father O’Sullivan, 
the resident pastor, who has given a great deal of time and study 
to the church and its history, believes that the tower fell south- 
ward into the plaza, scattering stones all over the square. The 
ruins of this tower served for years as a quarry for the inhabitants, 
who carted away the stones for use in building. Several of the 
worshippers, together with the officiating padre, escaped through 
the sanctuary and sacristy, emerging unharmed, but, in spite of 
this fact, some thirty-nine or forty bodies were taken from the 
ruins in the next two days. 

The church was never rebuilt. In the sixties an attempt was 
made by some well-meaning but half-determined enthusiasts to 
rebuild the structure in adobe. To this end, gunpowder was used 
to blow down the remaining shattered domes up to the sanctuary, 
which withstood, apparently, even the gunpowder, leaving the 
church the utter ruin that we find it today. The Landmarks Club 
has done much to preserve what little remains, but almost every 
winter with its deluge of rain brings further destruction to some 
part of the old building. Yet, in spite of all the violence that 
the buildings have suffered, the group at San Juan Capistrano 
stands at once the most glorious and most pathetic heritage of the 
early romantic period of Californian history. The primal glory 
has departed, but the afterglow still lingers, and in and around 
these grey ruins, as well as in the little sunlit valley in which they 
stand, hovers an indefinable charm that time can never dim. 


* History of California; I, 658; citing state papers, MS.; II, 26, 


161 





MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO. THE RUINED NAVE 





N SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO. THE PLAZA 


MISSIO 


II 


162 


HOUWONHO NI AHOIN AO TIVLAG 


oh 
| 


~ 


ONVULSIAVO 


Nvoaf NVS NOISSIN 


OILVd NI HOUV TYNOOVIG 





MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 163 


The plan of the church was that of a Latin cross, and except 
in the plan, which was no doubt insisted upon by the padres, the 
writer has found no use of any Christian symbol. There is a 
popular tradition at San Juan that accounts for this by pointing 
out that the ‘ master mason,” who was imported from Mexico, 
was of Aztec faith, and thus he carved into the various parts of 
the church pagan symbols, rather than Christian. That there is 
a resemblance between much of the carved ornament and certain 
pagan sun-symbols cannot be denied. The total length of the 
church was 180 feet; the nave was 30 feet wide and the transept 
arms projected 19’5” and 2110” on the east and west respectively. 
The campanario, some 120 feet in height, stood at the south 
end, the sanctuary at the north, while the baptistry was on the east. 
Thus San Juan Capistrano was not orientated. 

The walls of the church varied from four to six feet in thick- 
ness, the thicker walls being accounted for by the fact that the 
various recesses and niches were to be cut into them. The whole 
church was covered with seven low domes of stone, one of which, 
that over the sanctuary, still stands in place. The sacristy was — 
crowned with a low vault which is still intact. Tradition has it 
that upon the boveda over the crossing there was originally a 
cupola made of the large, square tiles. This cupola was con- 
ceived and executed, no doubt, in somewhat the same vein as the 
ventilating chimney over the kitchen (p. 78) and must have 
made a pretty termination for the dome. 

The greatest interest attaches to the interior details of the 
church, for at Capistrano one gets an insight into the ultimate 
intention of the padres such as he gets at no other mission. The 
nave in front of the transept had two bays, the wall treatment of 
which consisted of large triple-ringed arches, carried upon squat 
pilasters, and framing circular-headed niches. Transverse arches 
carried upon piers between the bays crossed the nave and in turn 
supported the low domes forming the roof. The springers of 
these arches are still in place so that it is perfectly possible to 
reconstruct the interior of the church. ‘The dome over the sanctu- 
ary is a groined boveda carried upon shallow wall-arches. There 
are five of these arches, two either side and one on the rear wall 


164 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


over the altar. These, with the great arch at the front of the 
sanctuary, give rise to the six parts into which the boveda is 
divided. The rear arch encloses the nine niches that originally 
made a back for the splendid high altar. 

The windows in the church of San Juan Capistrano, as gener- 
ally elsewhere, stood high in the walls, those of the nave being 
at the same altitude as those of the sanctuary, which are still in 
place. In the sanctuary are still to be seen two very interesting 
doors, one on either side. These doors, amongst the most ornate 
in the mission chain, have inspired much modern work. 

The sacristy has suffered little with the passing of the years. 
This is due to the fact, perhaps, that for many years it was used 
as a grain storehouse by the American owners of the mission 
properties. To this end the great arch that originally opened into 
the western arm of the transept, and the doorway leading into the 
sanctuary, were walled up, with the result that the apartment, 
which has no window and only one other door, is very dark. 
The sacristy had the usual shrine, saints, and vestment cases, all 
of which have disappeared. 

The great tower of the church (p. 37) was, most likely, of 
the two-terrace type like those of San Luis Rey or Santa Barbara. 
The remaining foundations give us sure information as to shape 
and dimensions, making it easy to restore the tower, which, as 
tradition has it, was high enough to be seen from a point ten 
miles to the northward and whose bells could be heard even 
further. The four bells that originally hung in the campanario 
now hang in the pierced wall (p. 111) between the great church 
and the present chapel. The two large bells date from 1796; the 
two small ones from 1804, thus, since the mission was established 
in 1776, it is obvious that these were not the original bells that 
Padre Lasuén buried, when he attempted the establishment in 
1775. The original bells were either lost at a later time or recast 
to make others. There is a tradition at San Juan that they were 
never found after Lasuén buried them, but this cannot be sub- 
stantiated. Bancroft and others carry the story of the unearth- 
ing of the bells by Padre Serra. 

The legends upon the bells run thus: 


MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 165 


Upon the largest: 


“VIVA JESUS SN VICENTE ADVON DE LOS RRS PS MIROS 
F VICTE FUSTER IF JN SNTIAGO, 1796.” 


This translated indicates that the bell was cast during the 
administration of the two former padres whose names appear.' 


It reads: 


“Praised be Jesus, Saint Vincent. For the Reverend Fathers, Ministers 
Brother Vicente Fuster and Brother Juan Santiago, 1796.” 


Upon the next largest: 


“AVE MARIA PURISIMA ME FESIT RUELAS 
I ME YAMO S. JUAN, 1796.” 


Which translated reads: 


“Hail Mary the most pure. Ruelas 2 made me and 


I am called Saint John, 1796.” 
Upon the next: 


“AVE MARIA PURISIMA, SN. ANTONIO, 1804.” 
Which translated is: 


“Hail Mary most pure, Saint Anthony, 1804.” 
Upon the smallest: 


“AVE MARIA PURISIMA, SAN RAFAEL, 1804.” 
Which in English reads: 


“Hail Mary most pure, Saint Raphael, 1804.” 


Aside from the great church there is much of interest and 
charm at San Juan Capistrano. In the present chapel are to be 
seen many objects used in the great church, objects spared by the 
earthquake, due to the fact that the sanctuary and transept were 
not ruined. Among them will be found the old silver candle- 
sticks, altar-card cases, book-stand, processional cross and torches. 
The old vestment case, as well as many of the vestments, still intact, 
are preserved in the sacristy. The old stone baptismal font, taken 
from the great church after the earthquake, is also to be seen. 
For many years this font was housed in a little sacristy, near the 
chapel, formed by closing in the angle bay of the front corridor. 
The font has a circular wooden cover, hinged at the middle and 


* This may also indicate that they were the donors. 
* That is the bell-founder. 


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MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 167 


encircled by a frame with an interesting carved conventional 
border, while at the centre there is a carved rosette similar in 
design to that upon the tile at the crown of the sanctuary vault of 
the great church. The candlesticks, imported of course from 
Spain and Mexico, are simple in design, yet beautiful in outline 
and proportion. 

The church contains several statues of carved wood, brought 
likewise from Spain. Among them area Saint Dominic, a Virgin, 
a San Juan Capistrano, a Saint Anthony (formerly a San Juan 
Capistrano), and a Madonna and Child. Among the old Spanish 
paintings still to be seen in the church are the first eleven of the 
Stations of the Cross, a Crucifixion, signed by “ Francisco Cer- 
vantes, 1800,” and a painting of San Juan Capistrano. 

The visitor to San Juan who sees only the mission misses much 
that the place holds for him. Situated in one of the handsomest 
landscapes in all California and adjacent to as interesting a bit 
of rocky coast as can be found along the whole stretch of the 
Pacific seaboard of the United States, the place has been a resort 
for beauty-lovers for years. 

And indeed not only San Juan Point, but the whole coast from 
San Juan to Abalone Point, has become a sketching-ground for 
artists. The writer has covered most of the rocky headland on 
foot; has been drenched in the spray and foam upon the rocks 
of Laguna and found the scenes here inspiring beyond words. 

At the mission, artists are fond of painting the front corridor 
and various portions of the patio. Either subject makes a fine 
picture when seen in full sunshine, the white walls relieved by 
the beautifully rhythmic shadows of the arches and the red tile 
roofs sparkling against a dark-blue sky. The general dilapidated 
condition, the overgrown vegetation, and the dreamy desolation 
only heighten the charm for the seeker after the romantic, and of 
all the missions of Alta California, San Juan is the most romantic 
and popular in the legends. 

One delightful tale related by Father O’Sullivan concerns 
the bells of the mission and runs thus: 

“There lived with her parents near the mission an Indian 
maid named Matilda, who was very gentle and devout, and who 
loved to care for the sanctuary and to keep fresh flowers upon the 


168 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


altar. She took sick, however, and died just at the break of day. 
Immediately, in order to announce her departure, the four bells 
all began to ring of their own accord, or rather by the hands of 
the angels, to ring together—not merely the solemn tolling of the 
larger ones for an adult nor the joyful jingling of the two smaller 
ones for achild, but a mingling of the two ways, to proclaim both 
the years of her age and the innocence of her life. Some say it 
was not the sound of the mission bells at all that was heard ring- 
ing down the valley at dawn, but the bells in heaven, which rang 
out a welcome to her pure soul upon its entrance into the 
company of the angels.” 





Ornament in Dome over Altar 
San Juan Capistrano 


CHAPTERSXIITI 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 


Ni far from the busy marts and congested city streets 


of the modern Los Angeles lies nestled among the 

orange-groves of the San Gabriel Valley the charming 
little village named for the Archangel, with its venerable church 
of grey stone dating from early Spanish-Californian days. The 
San Gabriel of our day is almost as quaint and Spanish in tone 
as the San Gabriel of old, and the old mission, which has been 
the centre of the religious life of the pueblo for a hundred and 
fifty years, still functions as the village church and the wor- 
shipping-place of the Spanish-Indian population. That this 
comparatively small community should retain so much of its 
ancient flavor in such close proximity to communities so modern 
in tendency as Los Angeles or Pasadena seems almost remark- 
able, but here, nevertheless, one may still enjoy the melodious 
chants of the mission, the old popular Spanish and Indian airs, 
and witness the Indian and Spanish sports and amusements. 
Here still are to be seen many reminders of the culture of a 
bygone day. Here still prayers are made and beads are told 
in rhythmic Castilian, and here still, at sunrise, noontide, and 
evening, toll those same chimes made famous by Bret Harte and 
Charles Warren Stoddard, the bells of San Gabriel the Archangel. 

When the establishment of Mission San Gabriel, the fourth 
link in the mission chain, was ordered, Padre Serra, in order to 
promote missionary work, asked for ten missionaries for Alta 
California. These padres, arriving at San Diego in March, 1771, 
reached Monterey, where they were to receive instructions from 
the Padre-presidente, on May 21. Father Serra immediately 
appointed the padres to their respective charges, those designated 
for the southern missions returning at once to San Diego. Among 
these were Padres Pedro Benito Cambon and José Angel 
Fernandez de la Somera, who had been selected as the first minis- 
ters of Mission San Gabriel, yet to be founded. 

Upon August 6, 1771, these padres, accompanied by an 
escolta of ten soldiers and a band of pack-drivers, set out from 
San Diego for the proposed site of Mission San Gabriel. At 

169 


170 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


length they arrived, after a march of some forty leagues, at the 
Rio San Miguel de los Temblores (River of Saint Michael of the 
Earthquakes), now known as the San Gabriel River. Here a 
band of Indians surrounded the party and made some demonstra- 
tion which the priests took to be a hostile move. It was easily 
quieted, however, for, upon the unfurling of a banner bearing a 
painting of the Virgin, the Indians signified their intention of 
doing no harm. After submitting to baptism they followed the 
padres to the site of the new mission. 

The foundation was made September 8, 1771, when the padres 
celebrated the first mass and gave orders for the erection of a 
temporary chapel, a house for themselves, and a shelter for the 
guard. The first buildings, like those of most of the other mis- 
sions, were of the wooden stockade type. Into the construction 
work the Indians entered heartily and were very useful in the 
cutting and transporting of the timbers. 

This first situation seems to have proved unsuitable although 
it was in a wide plain abounding in wood and covered with 
shrubbery and flowers, among them the “ wild Castilian rose.” 
After a period of experimenting the establishment was moved, 
in 1776, to its present site in a beautiful little valley blessed with 
fertile soil, abundant water, and accessible timber, and here the 
permanent buildings were erected. The group consisted of a 
church, priests’ quarters, shops for the trades and industries, 
storehouses for grain, tallow, hides, olive-oil, and the other prod- 
ucts of the mission lands, a convent for the young women, and 
quarters for the guard and servants. All of the early buildings 
erected upon the permanent site were of adobe, the first church 
structure’ being of this material and measuring 108 by 21 
feet. This adobe church was replaced later by the present stone 
church, which, begun in 1794, was completed in 1806. Unfortu- 
nately most of the ancient adobe structures have long since disap- 
peared and the outlines of the patio, around which they were 
built, would be hard to trace. The stone church, however, though 
badly damaged by the earthquakes of 1803 and 1812 and further 
marred by modern restoration, still stands as a vivid reminder of 
the zeal of the padres. 


* There were two earlier chapels erected. 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 171 


Now, although San Gabriel in the first quarter of the nine- 
teenth century attained great wealth, the early years of the mission 
were not prosperous. The scanty crops in the early years (1771- 
1772), the lack of much-needed supplies, and the Indian upris- 
ings at San Diego and upon the Colorado River were discourage- 
ments that the padres had to face. After the removal to the new 
site, however, better days seemed ahead and under the guidance 
of Padre José Maria de Zalvidea, who was in charge from 1806 to 
1826, San Gabriel became one of the wealthiest missions in the 
chain and was famous for her fine products, not the least among 
which were the fine wines and brandy made at the mission dis- 
tillery. The orchards, with their 2333 trees, contained oranges, 
figs, pomegranates, peaches, apples, limes, pears, and citrons, 
while the four vineyards contained some 163,579 vines. 

By 1804 San Gabriel had in operation a loom-mill, in which 
were woven sarapes (shawls), blankets, and a coarse woollen 
fabric known as jerge (serge). Instruction was provided by a 
white weaver who was imported from Mexico, but, as soon as 
he had trained an Indian maestro (master craftsman), he with- 
drew. As early as 1810 or 1812 San Gabriel had a water-power 
mill (p. 196) for grinding grain, and, by 1819, water-power 
was used also for sawing lumber. 

In 1834, pursuant to the law enacted the previous year, San 
Gabriel, like most of the California missions, was confiscated by 
the Mexican Government and Colonel Gutiérrez was appointed 
comisionado (commissioner) to carry the decree of secularization 
into effect. He did not stay in charge long, and there seems to 
have been a number of commissioners at the mission in rapid 
succession. Juan Bandini, the last of them, found only 72 cattle 
and 700 sheep upon the estate where, in 1833, there had been 
16,500 cattle and 8500 sheep. In 1841 the cook and cow-herd 
were discharged for lack of funds to pay them, and, by the time 
that the properties were returned to the padres by Governor 
Micheltorena’s order of 1843, the population of 1320 in 1833 had 
dwindled to a bare 250. In 1845 the Government decided to 
rent out the lands and they were leased, consequently, to the 
comisionados. One June 8th of the next year Governor Pio Pico 
sold the properties—lands and buildings—to Reid and Work- 


W772 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


man in payment for services that they had rendered the Govern- 
ment, but the United States officials, in August of the same year, 
took charge of and held the properties until the land-court 
finally declared the sale invalid. 

Since 1850 the mission has been a parish church, and, since 
1908, in charge of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart 
of Mary, who safeguard the sacred relics, venerable church, and 
cemetery with the utmost care and devotion. Many of the relics 
have been collected into a museum where the visitor may study 
them easily and completely. 

Having reviewed briefly the history of San Gabriel, let us 
turn now to the old stone church, for it is in this edifice that 
artistic interest centres. The church proper consists of a long, 
narrow nave 27 by 140 feet, 30 feet high, entered by an eastern 
main portal and a side door upon the south. The baptistry 
stands at the north of the nave, extending into the ancient ceme- 
tery, and the sacristy at the west directly behind the sanctuary. 
The main walls of the structure approximate 4'6” in thickness 
and are further stiffened by a range of heavy buttresses along 
either side of the exterior and a range of pilasters along the 
interior. The walls themselves are of quarried stone up to the 
windows, above which they are of burned brick, this change of 
material being hidden, of course, by applied stucco.? 

Originally the church was roofed with a vault of stone 
resembling in form that existing over the sacristy, with the excep- 
tion that the vault over the church was segmental in section and 
was constructed with transverse arches (fajones) carried upon 
pilasters (p. 86). Few people are aware that this church ever 
had a vaulted roof, although Bancroft, following the biennial 
report for 1803-1804, makes this statement: ‘“‘ The mission church 
had been completed with an arched roof, but, after cracks 
appeared and had been once repaired, they were opened wider 
than before by an earthquake so that the arches had to be torn 
down and a new roof of timbers substituted in 1804.” With a 
knowledge of the existence of the ancient vault, the heavy but- 
tresses, features that with their pyramidal caps give the exterior 
a robust and even military air, are perfectly explained. The 


? This change of materials probably came about after the earthquake of 1803. 


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MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 175 


second roof of heavy cross-beams, reinforced at the walls by 
corbels of cedar, has in recent years been replaced by an inhar- 
monious “ carpenter-Gothic” type of roof that mars seriously 
the quiet effect of the simple Franciscan interior and detracts 
materially from the solid simplicity of the exterior. 

Aside from this mention of the original stone roof there is, 
so far as the writer can find, no further documentary reference 
to its existence and none whatever to its form. All knowledge 
of that form must therefore be obtained from internal evidence. 
A most valuable help in this respect is the segmental pediment 
which still stands at the west end of the church. Its existence at 
the present time and in this form, a form required by no roof 
that has covered the church since the removal of the segmental 
vault, leads the writer to conclude that this wall was not damaged 
by the earthquake of 1803 and consequently was not replaced, as 
were portions of the lateral and eastern walls. Since the rise of 
the pediment is only 5’6” in a span of 35 feet, it will be seen at 
once that the lateral thrust must have been tremendous and that, 
for this reason, the vault was almost certainly doomed to failure. 
And indeed, if we may believe the report of 1803-1804, it would 
seem that the initial difficulty with the roof was experienced 
before the earthquake of 1803 made apparent the infeasibility 
of this form. 

The pitch of the second roof of timber and tiles, mentioned 
in the report of 1803-1804, and long since replaced by the 
steeper roof of wood, is indicated by the low triangular pedi- 
ment at the east end of the church. This pediment has no relation 
to the present roof, which is hipped at both ends and hence has no 
need for pediments at all. 

If there is some basis in the existing edifice for the restoration 
of the vault, there is far less information that would serve one in 
a restoration of the tower that originally stood at the northeast 
corner of the church. Only an indication of the arched opening 
that formerly led from the nave into the tower, together with a 
portion of its heavy rear wall, fashioned after the earthquake into 
a buttress, still remain to mark the existence of the tower, which 
was ruined by the earthquake of 1812. But these remains, and 
a brief reference in the mission records, which certainly estab- 


176 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


lish the tower’s existence, serve us very poorly when we inquire 
as to its form. The tower is spoken of as heavy and thus we may 
assume that it corresponded, in spirit, with the nave itself, but 
any restoration must be entirely conjectural. 

There are some things still apparent in the fabric, however, 
that may serve us in a restoration, and certainly a knowledge of 
procedures at other missions may be called in to help solve the 
problem at San Gabriel. That the lower portion of the tower was 
used in connection with the church service is indicated by the 
arch that opened from the church into it (p. 173). The lower 
portion of the tower may thus have served as a mortuary chapel 
or a baptistry. At any rate the large arch precludes any possibility 
of a stone stairway ever having gone up from the ground level 
to the bells above, as was the case at Santa Barbara, San Luis 
Rey, or San Buenaventura. On the other hand, access to the 
upper portion of the tower must have been gained through the 
choir, which is reached by means of the stone stairway at the 
south side of the church. 

If the tower had been of solid masonry with a spiral stair- 
way, such as that at Santa Barbara or San Luis Rey, there is little 
doubt but that it would still be standing. The writer is convinced, 
therefore, that the San Gabriel tower consisted of two chambers, 
one above and one below, the lower one serving as a mortuary 
chapel, or perhaps a baptistry, accessible through the great arch, 
the upper housing a wooden stairway, or perhaps only a ladder, 
leading to the bells. 

It seems inconceivable that the square portion of the tower 
could have been higher than the walls of the nave, therefore a 
restoration has been made upon this basis. Just what form the 
upper portion of the tower took, however, would be difficult to 
prove, and the restoration here becomes more highly conjectural 
than before. That the upper portion was massive, but easily 
wrecked by an earthquake, is inferred. If all the bells that 
finally found a place in the present campanario could be 
accounted for and their dates noted, it would be easy to find how 
many antedated the wreck of 1812 and had a place in the tower. 
Only two of the present bells, however, seem to antedate the 


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MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL, CAMPANARIO 


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MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL. RESTORED EAST FACHADA 


Sketch by W. I. Hamby 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 179 


disaster, and, of these, only one is surely dated. It bears 
the inscription: 
AVE MARIA 
Ss. JUAN NEPOMVCENO. 
RVELAS ME FECIT 
FN OR CES 
Another bell from the same foundry and similar in appear- 
ance is inscribed: 
AVE MARIA SANTISSIMA 
5S. FRAN. 
DE PAVLA RVELAS 
ME FECIT 
NCO, 


The other bells bear dates of 1828 and 1830, thus eliminating 
them from consideration. ‘Two of the arches of the campanario 
do not now contain bells, thus it is entirely poss ble that there may 
have been four bells at San Gabriel previous to 1812. But dells 
were scarce before 1800, and it is more than probable that there 
were not more than three. A tower for three bells that would 
harmonize in style and spirit with the massive proportions of 
the church has therefore been devised. 

The “ pierced-wall type ” has been chosen for several reasons. 
In the first place a tower of this type is less stable than the terraced 
form. Moreover, the present campanario is of the ‘“ pierced ”’ 
type, and it is entirely possible that, in idea, if not in exact form, 
it followed the earlier belfry. The terraced type of bell-tower 
was, moreover, not so common before the building of San Gabriel 
as it afterward became. Another argument for the pierced form 
might be found in the belfry of Mission Santa Inés (p. 46), the 
fachada of the church of which greatly resembles that of San 
Gabriel. Padres Calzada and Uria, the directors and great 
shaping minds of Mission Santa Inés, knowing well the plans 
of San Gabriel, where they had served, doubtless followed the 
general scheme of San Gabriel when building the church at 
Santa Inés. Thus Santa Inés may be considered a surviving copy, 
in idea at least, of the older church. A comparison of the struc- 
tures will convince one of their resemblances. 


180 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


To whom we are indebted for the design of the church 1s not 
made plain by any documentary evidence. A great portion of the 
original church, no doubt, can be attributed to the zeal and labor 
of Padre Antonio Cruzado, called in mission annals the ‘‘ Great 
Pioneer,” who was in charge at San Gabriel for over a quarter 
of a century (1772-1804), and thus during the period of church 
construction. Considerable work may also have been done by 
Padre Miguel Sanchez, who was also stationed here from 1788 
until 1803. 

A man to whom we must attribute much of the later work, 
and perhaps the charming existing campanario, was Padre Jose 
Maria de Zalvidea, the most famous pastor of San Gabriel and 
a great builder of temporalities. He was minister in charge from 
1808 until 1826, during the most prosperous years of the mission, 
and so beloved was he, that many of the common people of the 
parish still regard him asa saint. He gave a great deal of atten- 
tion to viticulture and thus San Gabriel became famous for her 
grapes and wines. During Padre Zalvidea’s managership of 
the mission temporalities, the lands extended from the sea to the 
mountains in an east and west direction and for miles northward 
and southward, including many ranchos. The report of 1826 
shows that the mission had a population of 1565 and herds and 
flocks to the number of 15,300 cattle, 725 horses, 91 mules, 215 
hogs, 10,000 sheep, and 38 goats. A man who could successfully 
look after such an estate and, at the same time, care for the 
spiritual wants of his flock surely possessed great manage- 
rial ability. 

Visitors to San Gabriel have often been impressed by the 
Moorish atmosphere of the merlon-capped walls and wondered 
what could have been the Spanish prototype of the building. 
Now it is doubtful whether the priests consciously copied any 
one edifice or whether they had drawings or prints of Spanish 
buildings that would make such a process possible, even had it 
been desirable. Most of them were trained as priests, yet, like 
all cultured men, appreciating beauty, especially as it expresses 
itself in the “‘ House of God,” they desired to make these temples 
in a new land as lasting and beautiful as was possible. Without 
architects and with few books or drawings to furnish ideas, each 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 181 


priest had to turn to his memory, to his early impressions gained 
in Spain or Mexico, for his inspiration, and this is what Padre 
Cruzado, the architect of San Gabriel’s church, found himself 
doing. Now if Padre Cruzado obtained his inspiration from a 
church that he had known in Spain, what edifice must he have 
known that would, undoubtedly, have left a vivid impression 
upon his mind? 

Padre Cruzado was born at Alcarazegos, in the bishopric of 
Cordova, Spain, in 1725, and came to Mexico in 1748, where 
he served the missions of Sierra Gorda for twenty-two years. 
Thus he came with a wealth of missionary experience to San 
Gabriel, where he was to labor diligently for a period of nearly 
thirty-three years. The building of this edifice was, then, the 
crowning achievement of his life. Padre Cruzado’s early impres- 
sions of Spain were doubtless gained at Cordova, where, as a 
student and a novice, he was trained, and it is the opinion of the 
writer that the Cathedral of Cordova, formerly the Mosque, must 
have left some impression upon him, since there is more than a 
chance resemblance between the church at San Gabriel and parts 
of the cathedral. To this simple structure in the new world the 
old Padre, evidently, tried to give some of the character of the 
great cathedral that he had known so well as a youth. That he 
succeeded, in a measure, in imparting to San Gabriel something 
of the solemn, military massiveness of the older building will 
become apparent when one compares photographs of the mission 
with those of the cathedral. 

The heavy buttresses along the southern fachada of San 
Gabriel (p. 32), crowned with their merlon-like caps, resemble 
in general feeling those of Cordova and give to the church that 
fortress-like atmosphere that has always been remarked in the 
older building. It would be foolish, perhaps, to think that 
Padre Cruzado consciously tried to copy Cordova, but forced to 
build, and build simply, yet desiring some measure of majesty 
and beauty, he, unconsciously, wrought in terms of what was to 
him the most glorious and beautiful of the churches that he had 
known in his youth. Isit any miracle, then, that there should have 
been written into this country church, in a frontier province of 
Spain, something of the spirit of an edifice of the homeland?’ 


182 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Even in its present condition, with its original vault replaced 
by a wooden roof, San Gabriel has many features that should 
interest the architect and art-lover. In the church is to be seen 
the old pulpit hanging from the wall and approached by a 
wooden stairway from the sanctuary. This is of varicolored 
woods and decorated upon its sides with inlaid five-pointed stars. 
The balustrade of the steps, by which the pulpit is approached, 1s 
composed of hand-turned balusters, which, in order to make them 
go further, were sawed in two and set with the turned sides out. 

The main altar, the only one of ancient days remaining in 
place, has an ornate retablo in the Churrigueresque style, which 
fact indicates that it antedates the church and was apparently 
brought from Mexico. The retablo is divided into three bays 
Carrying two tiers of saints, the lower, central saint—the Virgin 
of the Immaculate Conception—being canopied by a pediment 
carried upon columns and bearing the legend “‘ Ave Maria.” 
Upon the church walls are to be seen a number of interesting 
Spanish paintings, many of them somewhat spoiled by inexperi- 
enced retouchers, and therefore much less brilliant than origi- 
nally. Among them there is a painting of the Holy Trinity by 
Lucas Mena. 

The choir at the east end of the nave, carricdeuponmar. 
ancient heavy corbelled beams, still remains in place and is very 
interesting. Apparently it is supported by a great marble arch 
spanning the nave and carried upon heavy square piers at the 
walls. This ‘‘ arch,” in reality of wood, is made up of three 
heavy beams joined together to form a segmental arch (p. 86) 
and painted to represent marble. The choir is still reached by 
the ancient exterior stone stairway, a detail that has been 
sketched and painted perhaps more than any fragment of mis- 
sion architecture. 

The baptistry of San Gabriel is very interesting. Itis a small 
room, some ten feet square inside, and stands on the north side of 
the church. Its massive stone walls, almost four feet thick, carry 
a stone dome called “ media naranja” (half an orange) (p. 86). 
At the centre of the room stands a solid stone base, which in turn 
carries the original hammered-copper baptismal font fashioned 
by the Indians of the mission. The pouring vessel in the form 





SOUTH DOOR OF CHURCH 
MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 








CL econo 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 
SOUTH FACHADA WITH CHOIR STAIRS 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 185 


of a shell, the holy-oil stock, the censer, the holy-water pot and 
sprinkler, and the altar-bread case, all of silver, date from the 
mission’s early days and appear in the inventory of 1773. 

The old sacristy, with its simple tunnel vault, its honest con- 
struction and beautiful proportions, does the soul good in an 
age when there is so much sham in architecture. The old 
cajoneras (chest of drawers), a piece of furniture in the true mis- 
sion style (not the deadly thing that passes under that name in the 
shops), and its collection of ornate copes, chasubles, and canopies, 
made of silk and embroidered velvet and imported from Spain, 
are well worth a trip. A delightful old door of native wood, 
bound together with heavy bolts, still in place, opens into a 
closet off the sacristy. In the sacristy also are to be seen an ancient 
copper tankard and bowl, two processional crosses, and various 
candlesticks, all dating from the early days of the mission and 
appearing in the original inventory. 

Here also are still to be seen two ancient life-sized statues, 
one of San Buenaventura, the other of Saint Joseph, together with 
two small silver statues. Above the doorway that leads into the 
rose-garden under the great campanario hangs an interesting but 
horrible “ Inferno.” 

The campanario (p. 177), in which have hung the bells of 
San Gabriel since the earthquake of 1812, is doubtless the best- 
known bit of mission architecture. It is variously pictured both 
at home and abroad and is the detail that passes before the eye 
when California, the mission churches, or San Gabriel are men- 
tioned. It is as unique and beautiful a feature as the whole mis- 
sion chain affords, and, because of its simple yet beautiful outline, 
its naive and picturesque balance, will command the attention of 
seekers after the beautiful as long as it stands. Atop the campa- 
nario is a very beautiful wrought-iron cross. 

When the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
gained control of the premises, they set about at once to preserve 
and safeguard every fragment and vestige of the old structure. 
In the mission-house they have opened a museum where they 
have collected the old books from the mission library, a number 
of ancient Spanish paintings, statues, and church utensils, and 
many architectural fragments. 


186 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


A complete catalog of these collections would be tiring and 
perhaps even uninteresting. There are several items, however, 
that merit mention. The ancient books, brought from Spain by 
the padres, and perhaps the most tangible links that bound them 
to the homeland, are especially interesting. The oldest book at 
San Gabriel is the “‘Summa Alex. Ales,” 1489, while there are 
a number dating from the sixteenth century, among them a 
‘Philosophy of Gabriel Biel,” the works of “‘ el Tostado, Obispo 
de Avila,” 1527, three volumes of the “‘ Summa Theologica ” of 
Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1534-1535, and the work of San Ful- 
gencio de Ruspe, the last published by Christof Plantin, the 
famous Belgian publisher. 

Another treasure of the museum is a series of sacred music- 
books, printed at Salamanca and imported for use in the mission 
churches. The notes are square and the various parts are illu- 
mined in different colors so that singers might more easily follow 
the parts. The greatest interest attaches to the various records of 
the mission, complete copies of which are preserved here. The 
old “ Libro de Confirmaciones ” (Confirmation Record), bearing 
date of November 7, 1778, and having its title-page in the hand- 
writing of Padre Serra himself, is a most interesting document. 

Aside from the paintings mentioned as adorning the church 
and sacristy, there are a number in the museum. Most of the 
subjects are sacred and many of the figures represented are easily 
recognizable. There isa “ Queen Esther,” a= Salome, samara 
sheba Leaving the Bath,” a “ Saint Paul in the Island of Malta,” 
a “ Dream of Saint Joseph,” together with copies of Murillo’s 
‘Saint Francis,” “ Immaculate Conception,” and “ Our Lady of 
the Most Holy Rosary.” These works are all of Spanish origin. 
Of Mexican origin and painted upon wood are four panels 
representing various apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 
There are also several copies of the Italian masters painted 
upon copper. 

The cemetery beside the church, which has been used continu- 
ously since 1776 and is today the burial-place of the San Gabriel 
folk, has taken on a revived interest and new beauty under the 
present administration. Many important early Californians lie 


MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 187 


buried here, while nine of San Gabriel’s padres lie at rest in the 
sanctuary of the church. 

Near the cemetery may be seen the garden, portions of the 
orchard, and the ovens where the Indian servants cooked food for 
the mission community, made soap, rendered tallow, or burned 
brick for the mission buildings. The furnaces and great brick 
caldrons are still in place. One battery of these basins is 55 feet 
long by 18 feet wide, with four great circular vats, 9 feet in 
diameter, let into the hearth. Three fire-boxes, 3 feet wide, open 
into the spaces between and under the basins. Another hearth, 
32 by 11 feet, has two basins and a large rectangular baking-oven, 
5 by 13 feet. These ancient cooking-vats and ovens, ruined as 
they are, give one some idea of the advanced development that 
community life had taken at an establishment such as San Gabriel, 
and attest admirably the managerial ability of the humble and 
pious padres. 


Wrought Iron Cross 
Campanario 
San Gabriel Arcangel 


CHAPTER SXLY. 


THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS, LOS ANGELES 


activities of Governor Felipe de Neve, who believed that only 

free settlers could make a profitable colony of California. 
When he was appointed Governor in 1776, Neve made the trip 
northward by land, visiting all of the missions then in existence. 
Making notes on the needs of the country, he was able to send a 
full report of his observations to the Viceroy upon the first boat 
that went south after his arrival at Monterey. 

The Governor was a wise official and a practical, business- 
like supervisor, and he immediately saw the folly of importing 
military provisions from San Blas (Baja California) when Alta 
California was such a fertile and favored land. He explained 
to the Viceroy the immediate necessity of importing settlers to 
take up land and develop the country agriculturally. For reasons 
of defence he recommended that the settlers be established in 
pueblos with allotments of land adjoining. In his tour of the 
coast he noted two sites that struck him most favorably as loca- 
tions for future pueblos. These sites were occupied eventually by 
the pueblos of Los Angeles and San José; the first to become, in 
our day, the Pacific Coast’s largest city, the other the centre of 
one of the finest fruit-growing sections in the world. While the 
Governor’s recommendations were en route, he proceeded to 
establish the Pueblo of San José, naming it not only in honor of 
the Saint, but also in allusion to José de Galvez, Viceroy and the 
original promoter of California colonization. 

When the recommendations reached the Viceroy he trans- 
mitted them to Carlos III., who ordered establishment of the 
pueblos and commended the Governor for his energy and fore- 
sight. Of course these formalities all consumed time, and four 
years elapsed before the order to establish Los Angeles actually 
reached California. In accordance with these plans, however, 
a band of settlers, recruited in Northern Mexico by Captain 
Rivera, was brought thither by Lieutenant José Zuniga, and thus 
the pueblo was duly established, September 4, 178r. 

Arriving in the country, the colonists were temporarily housed 

188 


|: CHAPTER VI brief reference has been made to the 


CHURCH OF OURSEADYsOF THE ANGELS 189 


near Mission San Gabriel, some eight miles to the eastward. 
Upon foundation day the expedition set out from the mission, 
the Governor himself leading the way. He was followed by a 
detachment of soldiers bearing aloft the Spanish banner and 
these, in turn, by the forty-four colonists of the future metropolis. 
Reaching the plaza of the pueblo, which had already been sur- 
veyed and staked out, a procession was formed with the Governor 
and soldiers ahead, the padres of San Gabriel, accompanied by 
their dusky Indian acolytes next, and after these the settlers. The 
procession solemnly encircled the plaza, the padres blessed the 
site, and the Governor delivered a formal address, after which 
the ceremonies concluded with prayer and benediction by the 
padres. ‘Thus was founded the Pueblo de Nuestra Senora, Reina 
de Los Angeles (Our Lady, Queen of the Angels). 

Whether or not religious worship was considered necessary 
we are not told. At any rate, for the first few years of the settle- 
ment, any one who desired to attend services was compelled to 
journey to Mission San Gabriel. In 1784, however, a small 
chapel was erected near the corner of Buena Vista Street and 
Bellevue Avenue. This was evidently served by a priest from 
the mission, for, in 1810, there is record of a complaint on the 
part of the citizens that the padres of San Gabriel did not give 
the sick the attention they should have. In 1811 permission was 
granted for the erection of a new church, but the actual work of 
construction seems to have been postponed until August, 1814, 
when Padre Luis Gil y Taboada of San Gabriel officiated at the 
laying of the corner-stone. This beginning was to prove all too 
early, however, for in 1815, when the Los Angeles River left its 
old channel and threatened the site, the Governor ordered that 
the location be changed to higher ground. Nothing had been 
completed but the foundation, so this was no great hardship. 
The new site was near the plaza, on pueblo land, and near the 
other public buildings of that day. Thus in 1818, thirty-four 
years after the establishment of the pueblo, the place was to have 
its first permanent church. 

The citizens contributed five hundred cattle to defray the cost, 
but Governor Sola took over the cattle to feed the starving army, 
agreeing at the same time to include the cost of the construction 


190 





CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS, LOS ANGELES 


Before the Resto:ation 





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CHURCH OF OURSEADY OF THE ANGELS 191 


in the territorial budget for the succeeding year. The government 
proved to be bankrupt by that time, however, and entirely depend- 
ent upon loans of supplies from the missions. Thus no work was 
done on the church until an appeal was heard by the padres, who, 
in response to a prayer from Padre-presidente Payéras, donated 
to the building fund seven barrels of brandy, worth $575. Again 
in 1821, the funds having run out, José Antonio Ramirez, the 
builder-architect, reported the condition, with the result that a 
second appeal was made to the padres. More brandy and wine, 
which was readily converted into cash, a glassful at a time, was 
donated, and the Governor headed a list of citizens with cash 
subscriptions. Thus on December 8, 1822, the church was 
finally dedicated. 

There is an interesting note in connection with the prepara- 
tion of the materials for the church. The first American to settle 
in the vicinity was Joseph Chapman, a Yankee who had come to 
the country with Bouchard, a privateer who terrified the coast 
with raids upon pueblo and rancho in 1818. Chapman was at 
once arrested, due to the law prohibiting any except Spanish 
citizens in the colonies, but proving useful, he was soon freed 
and accepted into citizenship, marrying Guadalupe Ortega, a 
young woman of Santa Barbara. Padre Zalvidea, the clever 
manager of temporalities at Mission San Gabriel, recognizing 
his talents, made a friend and comrade of Chapman, and for the 
Padre, he built the first successful water-power mill in Cali- 
fornia. With the help of Indian laborers Chapman prepared the 
timbers for the construction of the church of Los Angeles, and, 
since these same materials were utilized in the renovation of 1861, 
it is to be presumed that they are still in use. 

The story of how the church secured its first bell is also an 
interesting bit of lore. It seems that a young American, Henry 
Fitch by name, arrived in California in 1826, and, falling in love 
with Dona Josefa Carrillo of San Diego, became engaged to 
her the next year. Her parents were not at first in favor of the 
union, but, after a wait of two years, finally gave a reluctant 
consent. After all preparations were completed an uncle of the 
bride, who was to act as a witness, refused to serve, and, moreover, 
put up such strong objections to the union that the priest would 


192 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


not perform the ceremony. As a result of this turn of affairs, the 
couple decided to leave the country, and, going to South America, 
they were married and returned a year later accompanied by a 
young son. When Don Henry returned he was charged with 
violation of the laws of the Church and territory and the question 
of the legality of his marriage was raised. The case created a 
great deal of excitement, but the court finally ruled that the 
marriage was valid but that the scandal, which the province had 
been compelled to bear, justified “ penance and reparation.” So 
the defendant was commanded “to give . . . a bell of at least 
fifty pounds’ weight for the church at Los Angeles, which .. . 
has a borrowed one.” Thus the Church of Our Lady came into 
possession of a bell of its own. 

Architecturally the church is not imposing. The fachada is 
pierced by a simple arched portal, flanked by thin pilasters which 
carry a band that divides the fachada horizontally. Above this 
band, two rectangular windows light the choir, and, in the gable, 
a circular window opens into what is now the attic. Before the 
restorations and “‘ improvements ” of 1861, this window doubtless 
helped to light the nave. The campanario consists of a low, 
square, buttressed tower, surmounted by a pierced belfry of the 
simplest type. The lower part, perforated on the front and one 
side by circular windows, at one time carried a belfry very 
different from the present one. The present form of belfry, 
‘restored ” some years ago, replaces the one shown in our photo- 
graph and is more in keeping with the original, which fell into 
decay and did not survive the renovation of 1861. 

The interior has suffered greatly from renovation and appears 
very much like the average modern Catholic church in many of 
our small towns. It is especially marred by the indiscriminate 
use of electric lights and the crude colors of the decorations, 
which are about as unarchitectural as one can imagine. 

The church, situated, as it is, facing the Plaza, which, up to 
a very recent time, showed far more signs of the old Spanish life 
than it does today, is largely attended by people of Spanish or 
Mexican blood. At the present time the structure is in charge 
of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which 
organization has charge of Mission of San Gabriel. This order 


CHURCH OF OURSEADY OF THE ANGELS 193 


took over the edifice some ten years ago, replacing the secular 
priests who had been here for so many years. The members 
devote their entire time to the interests of the Mexican popula- 
tion and conduct a parochial school for poor children of Spanish- 
speaking parentage. On the north side of the church the fathers 
have constructed a patio in the fashion of the old mission cloisters, 
and, in the rooms about this patio, they live and conduct the 
work of the school. 





Keystone 
San Gabriel 


CHAPTER. XV 


THE OLD MILL OF MISSION SAN GABRIEL 


religion they were also, in a real sense, the founders of the 

material wealth of the country. In other chapters has been 
recounted the story of the beginnings of the mission industries and 
it has been shown how the cordon of mission-houses, extending 
from San Diego to San Francisco, was in reality a chain of great 
communal industrial establishments. San Gabriel, like other 
missions, made her contribution to industry, and, under the 
efficient direction of Padre Zalvidea, made great progress not 
only with grain, stock, and fruit raising, but also in the develop- 
ment of water-power for manufacturing processes. The same 
water that irrigated the fields, vineyards, and orchards was har- 
nessed by this hard-headed and practical padre and made to 
turn the grist and saw mills that he erected. 

An interesting and beautiful relic of these days of mission 
industry still stands in an orange-grove near the golf-course of 
the Hotel Raymond in Pasadena. This is El Molino Viejo (The 
Old Mill). El Molino Viejo is the older of two water-power 
grist-mills built during the prosperous days of Padre Zalvidea 
and was erected about 1810. The mill stands upon the slope of 
a hill, the water entering the basins upon the upper side. The 
resulting great pressure against the building and the vibration 
occasioned by the heavy water-wheels and mill-stones account 
for the quaint and massive buttresses at the lower corners of the 
structure. The earthquake of 1812, which ruined the belfry of 
the mission-church, cracked the circular basin at the mill, and 
the dampness that resulted therefrom made necessary the immedi- 
ate removal of the flour to the mission, two miles distant. The 
impossibility of keeping the mill-stones and grain-bins dry led 
finally to the abandonment of this picturesque old structure and 
the erection of a mill at another site. 

The second mill, while not so interesting architecturally, was, 
we are told, far more satisfactory from a practical standpoint. 
In building this mill Padre Zalvidea took advantage of the 
knowledge and abilities of Joseph Chapman, the Yankee who, as 


; F THE Franciscan missionaries were the torch-bearers of 


194 


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OLD MILL OF MISSION SAN GABRIEL, NEAR PASADENA 


THE OLD MILL OF MISSION SAN GABRIEL 197 


we have seen, prepared the timbers for the construction of the 
Church of Our Lady of the Angels. The mill-stones of the first 
mill had a direct shaft connection with the water-wheel, which 
arrangement added to the difficulty of keeping the grist dry. 
Chapman introduced bevel-gearing to get around this difficulty, 
thereby producing the first successful water-power grist-mill 
in California. 

El Molino Viejo was operated by water conducted thither 
from Los Robles and Mill Creek Canyons by means of ditches 
that fed into the northern circular, funnel-shaped basin at the 
west side of the building. From the bottom of this basin a narrow 
flume conducted the power-giving stream to its contact with the 
wheel. As will be noted upon the plan, there are two wheel- 
chambers and two basins, the south set of which, it is said, was 
never put to use. From the wheel-chamber the water exhausted 
to a dam below, where it was again used in the operation of a saw- 
mill, after which it irrigated the orchards and fields. 

None of the machinery of the mill is in place; the wheel and 
the gates have disappeared; nothing remains but the heavy 
masonry mill-house and the basins. At one time the ancient mill- 
stones, two and a half feet in diameter and eight inches thick, 
served as hitching-blocks before San Marino, the residence of 
Dr. J. De Barth Shorb, but the writer has not seen them for 
some years. 

The mill structure is sixty-one by twenty-four feet, massively 
built with stone walls varying from two and a half to four and 
a half feet in thickness. It seems, in its heaviness, almost fortress- 
like, and indeed, the padres may have considered it necessary to 
safeguard themselves against attack, for the region was the centre 
of alarge Indian population. The attempt to guard against vibra- 
tion, and to withstand the pressure of the water against the west 
wall, together with the current habit of building very heavy walls, 
would, in the writer’s opinion, explain its massiveness. 

In 1859 the old mill, so long idle, became the property of 
Colonel E. J. C. Kewen, at one time attorney-general of Cali- 
fornia and famous for his connection with the Walker filibuster- 
ing expedition. By the addition of porches at the south end and 
east side, he converted the place into a comfortable residence, and 


198 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


here he lived for twenty years. After his death it became a tool- 
house of the ranch, but when the golf-course near by was laid out, 
it was appropriately fitted up as a locker-room. The lockers and 
other appointments are still in place. The pseudo-Colonial 
wooden trim around the doorway at the south end was built 
doubtless while Colonel Kewen occupied the house. The jig- 
saw porches have, fortunately, been removed. 

The simple proportions of this staunch old structure are 
admirable and the building reflects in every detail the good taste 
of the padres, whose architectural creed seems always to have 
been simplicity, strength, and beauty. In semi-dilapidated con- 
dition, overgrown and lichen-covered, its yellow stone walls and 
its variegated red-tile roof, offer studies in color rarely encoun- 
tered in America. It is to be hoped that this beautiful relic of 
the days of the padres will be permanently preserved. 





Old Belfry of Mission House 
- San Fernando Rey de Espana 


CHAPTER IUXVI 


MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA 


twenty-two miles northwest of the business centre of Los 

Angeles, yet within the corporate limits of that city, stand 
the remnants of the old Mission of San Fernando Rey de Espana, 
that is to say of Saint Ferdinand, King of Spain. Saint Ferdinand 
was Ferdinand III. (1200-1252), King of Castile and Leon, the 
two kingdoms which formed, after the expulsion of the Moors, 
the foundations of modern Spain. Ferdinand was victor over 
the Moors at Ubeda in 1234, at Cordova in 1236, and at Seville 
in 1248, and was planning an African invasion when he died 
in 1252. Like his cousin, Saint Louis of France, he was not only 
a man of brilliant military talents, but also a religious zealot of 
the extremest order, fighting heretics with the fiercest punish- 
ments known to his age. He was canonized by Pope Clement 
X. in 1671, and is counted one of the greatest of Spanish kings 
as well as one of the greatest of Spanish saints. 

The foundation of the mission was late in point of time, being 
the seventeenth link in the chain. It was founded September 8, 
1797, by Padre-presidente Lasuén and Fathers Dumetz and Uria 
upon the lands of Rancho Encino. This rancho, one of the first 
land-grants in California, was held by Francisco Reyes, who had 
been here since 1784. In this connection it would appear that 
the power of the padres was very great if they could claim, for 
missionary purposes, the lands of a settler. But it appears that 
the lands were thus appropriated with apparently little protest 
upon the part of Reyes. 

The establishment of a mission at this point helped to com- 
plete the chain of missions in Southern California. The padres 
had for some time contemplated the filling of the gaps between 
Missions San Gabriel and San Buenaventura and between San 
Diego and San Juan Capistrano. San Fernando provided mis- 
sionary guidance for the Indians between the first two establish- 
ments, while San Luis Rey, founded the next year, provided the 
same advantages for the Indians between the latter two. Thus 
we have the two missions, established almost simultaneously, 


T THE heart of the fertile San Fernando Valley, some 


199 


200 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


dedicated to the two sainted kings and cousins, Saint Ferdinand 
and Saint Louis. 

Architecturally, San Fernando is scarcely as interesting as 
the other churches of the south. The wealth of the establishment, 
due to the fertility of the mission lands, was great, but for one 
reason or another, probably because the mission never had at its 
head a great builder like Ripoll, Cruzado, Zalvidea, or Peyri, 
no great church was ever erected. It has been pointed out 
(Chapter VII) that there were three types of structure, each 
dependent for its character upon the materials available. These 
were, chronologically, the wooden stockade type, the adobe type, 
and the masonry type. San Fernando never went beyond the 
adobe type. The original church of the mission was begun before 
the close of the century and was completed and dedicated in 
December, 1806. 

This church served the needs of the community until 1812, 
when it was seriously damaged by earthquake. The tremor of 
December 8, which wrought such havoc throughout the mission 
chain, did no damage at San Fernando, but the severe shock of 
December 21, which wrecked the church at Santa Barbara, made 
necessary the introduction of thirty new beams to support the 
walls. The present church, which has stood for so many years a 
pitiable ruin and which, through the efforts of the Landmarks 
Club, has only recently received attention, dates, no doubt, from 
1818. What relation its form bears to that of the original struc- 
ture would be difficult to determine. 

The church, as will be noted upon the plan, is a long, narrow 
structure some 166 feet in length by 25 feet in width, a dimension 
determined by the length of the roofing beams available. The 
walls, which are 4’10” thick, are of adobe with the exception of 
the pilasters, which divide the interior walls into panels, the 
two great buttresses, which steady the walls, and the frames 
around the openings, all of which are of burned bricks. This use 
of brick masonry with the adobe made possible a refinement 
entirely impossible in adobe alone and at the same time gave the 
openings a more stable form and a surer definition. 

The arrangement of the church was similar to that of other 
Californian establishments. As one entered the main portal, the 


201 


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MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA, RUINED INTERIOR AS IT APPEARED SOME YEARS AGO 


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PLAN OF MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA 


MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA 203 


belfry was upon the right, the baptistry upon the left. Heavy 
beams supported the choir, which stood above the entrance. The 
high altar was at the opposite end, with the sacristy beyond. A 
door in the left lateral wall led into the cemetery; the one oppo- 
site into the mission gardens. The walls were plastered inside 
and out with lime mortar, the interior being decorated with 
fresco paintings, traces of which were discernible the first time 
that the writer visited the ruin. The heavy ceiling beams, carried 
upon great corbels, were treated with whitewash and color, and 
thus the interior, with its frescoéd walls, its Stations of the 
Cross, and its Spanish altar-hangings, made a glorious, if 
barbaric, spectacle. 

The church is, however, not the most interesting or pictur- 
esque of the remnants of San Fernando. A considerable interest 
centres in the old mission-house so often miscalled “‘ the Monas- 
tery.” This huge adobe structure, 235 feet long by 65 feet wide, 
with its arcaded corridor, tiled roof, and bell-arch, was in the 
old days the centre of mission activities. It contained the kitchen, 
the guest-room, the convent, quarters for the padres, refectory, 
library, and offices of the great landed estate, which had, in 
1819, an Indian population exceeding a thousand souls, and 
possessed herds and flocks to the number of 12,800 cattle, 500 
horses and mules, and 6000 sheep. 

Perhaps the main interest in this building is inspired by its 
rhythmic arches of brick and its well-preserved red-tile roof, 
which, to be sure, has been repaired several times at the expense 
of the other structures of the group. The roof of the arcade, 
changed after its first construction, was, it is certain, at one time 
nearly flat, being in no sense a continuation of the main roof, 
as it now appears. The old waterspouts of burned tile, made 
obsolete by this change, are still to be seen. The little belfry at 
the west end of the arcade is unique, and is the only example of 
the use of a bell, except in connection with the church proper, 
that the writer recalls. 

The main portal of the mission-house, with its curious hand- 
carved door with moulded, serpentine grooves, though not elabo- 
rate in detail, is exceedingly interesting. This opening is not of 
the semicircular type, almost invariably used, but has an ellipti- 


204 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


cal arch, defined by a simply moulded frame, supported by 
flanking pilasters, each of which is enhanced by a central flute 
and a heavily moulded impost. Above the door is a shell-headed 
niche, which originally contained the statue of a saint. 

Among the interesting bits of the old building are several 
wrought-iron grilles, which are still in place at the windows 
(p. 60). San Fernando enjoyed the reputation of having one 
of the best of mission smithies and of turning out some very good 
wrought iron. Certainly these old grilles attest the ability of 
the Indian blacksmiths. They are, without doubt, the most ornate 
grilles to be found among the missions and compare favorably 
with the delightful wrought-iron cross upon the campanario of 
San Gabriel (p. 187). 

In front of this building was the plaza with its fountain, one 
of the two mission fountains still in existence. Not far from the 
fountain, the remains of two reservoirs, fashioned of stone, but 
lined with brick, are still to be seen. The mission water-supply 
was derived by damming a ‘“‘ draw ”’ in the hills back of the mis- 
sion, the water being carried by means of tile conductors to the 
fountain and reservoirs. Occasionally this source of water 
failed, hence the precaution for a storage supply. 

At the rear of the “’ Monastery ” was the patio, flanked upon 
its eastern side by a row of low adobe structures used as shops, 
storage-houses, and quarters for the mission escolta. A corridor 
flanking the patio side of this line of buildings led from the 
mission-house to the church. The roof of the corridor was 
carried upon brick columns and piers, remains of which were 
visible some years ago. These have now entirely disappeared, 
while the adobe walls of the houses have so thoroughly disin- 
tegrated as to be formless ruins. 

San Fernando had at one time flourishing vineyards and 
orchards. Bancroft states that the wine yield from these vine- 
yards reached two thousand gallons yearly, while the amount of 
brandy produced at the mission was nearly as great. The padres 
early planted date-palms and set out an extensive olive orchard, 
some fine trees of which are still to be seen at the rear of 
the mission. 

For many years the mission-house was used to accommodate 


205 





MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA. GENERAL VIEW 


206 





NA, FOUNTAIN 


MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPA 





SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA, DOORWAY OF 


MISSION HOUSE 


MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA 207 


ranch-hands working in the neighboring fields and for the storage 
of hay and grain, but in recent years the buildings with a few 
acres have been returned to the Church. The efforts of the Land- 
marks Club have made possible the preservation of the remnants, 
and, had it not been for this public-spirited organization, the 
buildings would long ago have returned to the earth whence they 
came. In 1897 the Club braced and repaired the roof of the 
mission-house and put a temporary roof of “shakes” upon the 
church, This latter “ restoration ” served for a few years to pre- 
serve the sacred walls, but, at length, the elements and vandals had 
their way and the old church was reduced to a miserable heap of 
fallen beams and crumbling walls. 

In 1916 the Landmarks Club determined to restore the church 
and to this end held, on August 4th, the San Fernando Candle 
Day. Itis doubtful if such an event could have been staged any- 
where in America except in California, but upon that day some 
six thousand Californians, native and otherwise, assembled under 
the arches of the old mission to celebrate the one hundred and 
forty-seventh anniversary of the discovery of Los Angeles Valley, 
of which the San Fernando is a part. The sight of six thousand 
American citizens, each having left behind him the business of 
the day in order to celebrate an historic event and each bearing 
a flickering candle, the receipt for a dollar contributed to the 
restoration fund, trooping through the whitened arches of the 
old building was an impressive and long-to-be-remembered pic- 
ture. Regardless of whether or not such a celebration could be 
held outside of romantic California, the staging of such a pageant, 
even here, augurs well for the development of a sentiment for 
things venerable and beautiful and is certain to make for a finer 
civic spirit. This plan, the dream of a poet, brought in enough 
cool dollars to go far toward the restoration of the crumbling 
church walls and make safe that historic old ruin for many 
years to come. 


Stee Wall ad DS OO 


THE MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 


lishments according to the original plan, remained to be the 

ninth of Padre Junipero’s chain and the last mission to be 
established by the Apostle of California. The delay, as we have 
seen, was due to numberless causes and was perhaps not avoidable. 
When Governor Neve proposed a further occupation of the Santa 
Barbara Channel area, it seemed that at last the time had come 
for the completion of that trinity of establishments proposed by 
the Viceroy. It was with genuine zeal, therefore, that Padre 
Junipero, now advanced in years, set about the preparations for 
the mission to be dedicated to the Seraphic Doctor. 

The mission, located some eighty-three miles northwest of 
Los Angeles and twenty-five miles southeast of Santa Barbara, 
was established March 31, 1782, under most favorable circum- 
stances. It was founded at royal expense and was consecrated by 
the venerable Padre-presidente himself, in the presence of one of 
California’s greatest Spanish governors, with the Spanish troops 
under Lieutenant Don José Francisco de Ortega, the founder of 
one of California’s most prominent Spanish families and the dis- 
coverer of San Francisco Bay, in attendance. The mission was 
dedicated, moreover, to one of the great ‘“‘ doctors of the Church,” 
Saint Bonaventure, cardinal-bishop and “ ex-minister-general 
of the Franciscans.” Padre Serra and Padre Pedro. Benito 
Cambon, who had been one of the founders of Mission San 
Gabriel, were the first ministers and remained in residence until 
a royal ship brought the new missionaries to assume charge. 

The first buildings erected were, according to Vancouver, 
the English traveller, destroyed by fire. When he visited the mis- 
sion in 1793, he reported the permanent buildings as being under 
construction and the patio, with the exception of the church, just 
begun, practically complete. He described the mission as being 
‘“in a very superior style to any of the new establishments ” and 
said that “the garden . . . far exceeded anything . . . before 
met with in these regions ” and contained “ apples, pears, plums, 


S': BUENAVENTURA, the third of the proposed estab- 


208 


THE MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA — 209 


figs, oranges, grapes, peaches, pomegranates, plantain, banana, 
cocoanut, indigo, and kitchen herbs, roots, and plants.” 

The next year the church, a building of stone, was said to have 
been half completed. It appears, however, that this edifice, 
although reported as nearly completed in 1797, was not conse- 
crated until September 9, 1809, when Padre José Sefian and 
Marcos Antonio de Victorio celebrated this rite, assisted by the 
Rev. José Argtiello (a son of the later governor, José Dario 
Argutello) and padres from Santa Barbara, Santa Inés, San Fer- 
nando, and San Gabriel. On the second day after the consecra- 
tion the relics of Padre Vicente de Santa Maria, former pastor 
of the mission, who had died in 1806, were transferred to the 
new edifice. 

San Buenaventura suffered from the earthquake of 1812, 
when, on December 21, a tremor damaged the fachada and cam- 
panario to such an extent that the tower and a part of the fachada 
had to be rebuilt. The whole mission site is thought to have settled, 
and for fear that the structure would slide down the hill, the 
tremendous buttress upon the fachada opposite the tower was 
added, and the lateral and rear walls were reinforced. By 1814 
most of the damage to the minor buildings had been repaired, 
and by 1818, not only had the church been restored but a chapel 
to San Miguel had been added. 

San Buenaventura reached her greatest development about 
1816, at which time the Indian population numbered 1330, and 
she maintained herself a thrifty community up to the time of 
secularization. A notion of her wealth is indicated by the fact 
that, in 1820, the provincial Government was indebted to the 
mission to the extent of $27,385 for supplies, $6200 in unpaid 
stipends, and $1585 fora cargo of hemp. None of these items, 
it appears, the Government had the slightest intention of paying. 
In 1816 the cattle upon the mission ranchos numbered 23,400, but, 
after the trouble attending the secularization, the herd dwindled 
so tremendously that, by 1843, there were only 2382 cattle 
remaining. At this time the orchards and vineyards, properties 
not subject to such immediate depreciation as were the flocks and 
herds, numbered 1032 fruit-trees and 11,970 vines. This gives 
some impression of the extent of viticulture at the mission 


14 


210 








MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA, INTERIOR AS IT NOW APPEARS 


THE MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA — a11 


and serves to show why she became noted for the products of 
her vineyards. 

In 1845 the church was declared a parish church by Garcia 
Diego, the first bishop of the Californias, and it has served in 
this capacity since that date, to the great detriment, be it said, of 
the structure itself, the interior of which has been “ restored ” 
out of all semblance of its original condition. The worst of the 
work was accomplished in the early nineties by Father Rubio. 
The photograph will serve to show how the interior appears at 
the present time, when the only piece of original work not 
modernized to the extent of ruin is the shell-headed doorway at 
the right. A canopied pulpit, one of the finest bits of mission 
woodwork, originally hung from the wall in the first bay in front 
of the chancel-rail upon the right-hand side of the church. It 
disappeared during the nineties but our sketch will convey some 
idea of its appearance. 

The exterior of the church, although perhaps neither beauti- 
ful nor interesting so far as detail is concerned, composes itself 
into a picturesque mass that, when seen in the brilliant white 
sunshine of California, against her semi-tropical sky and amid 
her luxuriant vegetation, compels our admiration. 

It has always appeared to the writer that the design of the 
church must have been changed after it was begun and that a 
decision to enlarge the structure must have been made after the 
original fachada was in place. This contention is borne out by 
internal evidence, the most convincing single piece of which is the 
disposition of the elements of the fachada itself. It will be 
noticed that there is a set of mouldings which, running up to a 
point, seem to recall an earlier gable-line. Moreover, this 
smaller composition seems to have been complete within itself. 
A window into the choir was provided and a corbelled niche in 
the apex of the pediment, while the two pilasters flanking the 
doorway seem much more intelligible as elements of the smaller 
composition than as divisions of the fachada as it now stands. 
It is the opinion of the writer that this portion of the fachada 
antedates the earthquake of 1812. The grade-line has, of course, 
been lowered, making a marked difference in the appearance of 
the building. 


22 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


The campanario is typical and of the terraced type. It is 
not so graceful as the tower of San Luis Rey and certainly not 
so sturdy as the towers of Santa Barbara. Moreover, it suffers 
somewhat from the fact that the two upper stages do not “ centre ” 
over the lower. On the whole, however, the tower is the most 
interesting feature of the church, with one exception, and this is 
the side door, already mentioned. This doorway appears almost 
as if a bit of Old Spain herself had been transported thither and 
set into the walls of this old church. It will be noticed that the 
wooden leaves, with their serpentine decorations, are similar in 
design to those seen at Mission San Fernando. 

Some mention should be made of the bells of San Buenaven- 
tura, of which there are four. Those hanging in the north and 
west arches date from 1781 and bear these legends respectively: 


“SAN PEDRO ALCANTARA 
L7OICs, 


“SAN FRANCISCO 
ieyaanh 


Those hanging in the east and south arches are dated 1812 and 
1825, respectively, and carry these inscriptions: 


“AVE MARIA 


Sn JOSEPH 1812” 
and 
“AVE MARYA PURISIMA 


S. MARIA BD! (de) SAPOPAN 
ANO ®! (Domini) 1825” 

Besides the church there is little left at San Buenaventura to 
command the attention. Perhaps it was fortunate, after all, that 
the building was made a parish church. If it had not been, per- 
haps nothing would remain. So-called restoration, however, 
has done much damage to its one-time interesting interior. It is 
hoped that, as time goes on, the authorities in charge of these 
staunch old structures will come to learn the meaning of resto- 
ration in its full archeological sense and historical significance. 


* This, a combination of D and E, stands for “de” in one case and “ Domini” in 
the other. 


213 





SIDE OF CHURCH 


BUENAVENTURA. 


MISSION SAN 


VUNLNAAVNANA NVS NOISSIW : 
HOUNHO AO AGIS LY AVMUOOAd LidTONd GaIdONVO dO NOILVUYOLSAA 





| ana eT 


| Oar THoomay/~ | 
ier gi Noy 





THE MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 215 


At the rear of the church and high above the town looms a 
hill, upon the crest of which stands a cross. This modern cross 
marks the spot upon which the venerable Junipero is said to have 
planted the symbol of salvation in order that it might be seen 
not only along the shore but for many miles out to sea. The view 
from the hill is a most expansive one, embracing, as it does, miles 
of coast land and the open sea. 





Campanario, San Buenaventura 


CEVA PAE Ree VeL et 


THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA 


the presidency of Padre Lasuén, who, in 1785, took up the 

labors of the deceased Serra. On December 4 of the next 
year Lasuén, assisted by Padres Antonio Paterna and Cristobal 
Oramaas, blessed the site and formally dedicated the mission. The 
first mass was not celebrated, however, until the sixteenth, at 
which time Governor Fages was in attendance. 

The new mission was situated some nine leagues northwest 
of Mission San Buenaventura and one-half league northwest of 
the Presidio of Santa Barbara on a beautiful and commanding 
site at the foot of the Santa Inés Mountains. The site, certainly 
one of the finest occupied by any of the missions of California, 
appears, however, to have been selected not so much for its 
natural beauty as for its abundance of good building-stone and 
its plentiful water-supply. 

Early in 1787 work upon the mission structures was begun, 
and during that year a small chapel, together with a priest’s 
house, carpenter-shop, granary, convent, and other small build- 
ings, were built by Padres Paterna and Oramas, assisted by the 
Indians. In spite of the fact that the site abounded in good stone, 
the first structures, certainly considered only temporary at best, 
were constructed of adobe and roofed with thatch. By 1789 a 
church 17 by 108 feet was completed, and during the next two 
years other granaries, tool-houses, a guard-house, and a mission- 
house, containing refectory, kitchen, and store-rooms, all of 
adobe, were erected. The next year the manufacture of burned- 
clay tiles made possible fire-proof roofs for the structures. 

By 1792 the adobe church, completed only three years before, 
was deemed too small, and, in order to make room for a larger 
church, this structure was demolished. During 1793-1794, the 
priests and neophytes were busy upon a church 25 by 124 feet 
with a sacristy measuring 14 by 26 feet. This church, like the 
two preceding structures, was of adobe but had a tile roof and 
was plastered inside and out. According to Father Engelhardt, 
the best-informed Santa Barbara historian of the present day, the 


216 


Sie BARBARA was the first mission established under 


THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA 217 


church had three chapels along either side, and, by 1795, a brick 
portico in front. This edifice stood until the earthquake of 
December 12, 1812, when it was so thoroughly ruined that it had 
to be taken down to make room for the present great stone church. 
During 1792, also, two large enclosures of stone, one for cattle 
and one for sheep and goats, were completed. 

Within the next two years a granary and a spinnery, with 
stone foundations, and four new apartments for the padres were 
finished ; the cemetery was enclosed and a new corral was added. 
This same year the beams of sycamore and poplar, used about 
the structures so far erected, were replaced by pine. Stores, 
offices, further granaries, and corridors across the front and in 
the patio were built in the next three years, and, in 1798, nine- 
teen Indian houses, 12 by 19 feet, plastered, whitewashed, and 
provided with doors and movable windows, were added, while 
the combined garden and vineyard was enclosed by an adobe 
wall nine feet high. 

In 1799, thirty-one more Indian houses were completed, while 
corridors, covered with tile roofs supported upon brick arcades, 
were constructed around the three remaining sides of the patio. 
Preparations were also begun about this time for the construction 
of the water-system, which was to be the most complete erected 
at any mission. The water-supply was obtained by the damming 
of Pedragosa Creek some two miles above the mission. From 
the dam the water was conducted, by means of a stone aqueduct, 
to a settling-basin northeast of the mission church. This aqueduct 
was built in such a way a3 to follow the contour of the hills and 
canyons, and so well constructed that, after a hundred years, 
it remains, where not destroyed by man, in excellent condition. 
From the settling-basin, or filter, the water was led into the great 
stone reservoir, 110 feet square and seven feet deep, which was 
completed in 1806. That this reservoir was a good one is attested 
by the fact that it is still utilized as a storage-basin by the Santa 
Barbara Water Company. 

Upon the hill above the reservoir, already mentioned, was 
subsequently built a second small reservoir, which was also 
supplied from the dam. Between these two reservoirs was built 
the water-power grist-mill where Padre Ripoll ground his 


218 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


grain. The upper reservoir was provided with wooden sluice- 
gates by means of which the water to turn the mill-wheel could 
be controlled. 

From the settling-basin, constructed to purify the domestic 
supply, an aqueduct formerly conducted the water to be used for 
household purposes to the rear of the mission. From here it was 
distributed to the fountains. This aqueduct consisted of a water- 
way four inches in diameter carried atop a heavy stone wall, 
which, crossing the road that leads to the bridge, was pierced at 
this point by a pretty arch that remained in place until about 
1880, when a farmer, angered because it would not permit the 
passage of his hay-wagons, had it removed. Parts of the wall, 
now in ruins, can be seen to this day. 

In front of the mission a very ornate fountain (p. 43) was 
built in 1808. From this fountain, which still stands, the over- 
flow was led to the stone laundry-vat, where it spouted from the 
mouth of a California bear into the basin, 72’6” long by 6'6” 
wide and 3'3” deep. To this long basin the Indians brought their 
family wash. Dipping the garments into the water, the women 
pulled them up onto the heavy roll-rim of the vat, where they 
were soaped and beaten with paddles after the manner of launder- 
ing in Spanish-speaking countries. 

Between the years of 1801 and 1807 there were from thirty 
to fifty adobe Indian houses added each year until some two 
hundred and fifty-two of them, enclosed by an adobe wall on all 
sides except that toward the plaza, were completed. This Indian 
village occupied the space south of the present monastery build- 
ing and southwest of the plaza, with its fountain and laundry- 
basin. During the same year a tannery, a pottery, a major-domo’s 
house, three warehouses, and a stone prison, together with several 
groups of apartments, were built. The church was provided with 
glass windows, and the fachadas of both the mission-house and 
the church were improved. 

The earthquake of December, 1812, damaged the church, as 
has been stated, and the years of 1813 and 1814 were consumed 
with the preparation of materials for the erection of the present 
stone edifice. The corner-stone was laid in 1815 and work pro- 
gressed speedily from that date until the completion in 1820. In 


C rg 
orra Legend 


Church 
Jission House 
ee preaen 
escervoir 
Settling Basin 
IMill 
~~ [ Pottery 
ae 1 - Granary 
SS f- “Weaving Mill 
Jf MajorDomes Ftouse 
Jb TJamnery 
4h ~ Joldiers’ Quarters 













al ul) © 


ny © CEVEIei LES) 





Jhreshing. Floor 





BQADAS OYE 








YT SC 
NNS Sy / SSN 








Ry 
S\N 
















































Ky WW é 
NY / b is = Ny N8gg 
AS / 
N ye My Se N 
\Y NG fe < 
NS os 
Rihy 
7 len 
(Pn 


f aS 


AS] Rs. Orchard and Yarden, 


/ 
io eone 






pe? [] oe Lar: NS 
; Sf Vee ‘Mission: Janta Barbarg. ‘9 BS 
Cee fal e~ meet” Feet - 

£ i R Newcom\pel 25 


4 / 











220 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


1817 Captain Wilcox, who was visitint the coast upon a trading 
expedition, made a tr:p to the Santa Cruz Islands in his boat, 
the Traveller, for the purpose of bringing timbers for the con- 
struction of the church roof. The dedication took place 
September 10, 1820. 

We have a picture of the mission as it appeared in 1827 
through the writings of Duhaut-Cilly.1 He writes: 


“As we advanced, the buildings of the Mission appeared under a finer 
aspect. From the roadstead we could have taken it for a castle of medieval 
times, with its lofty windows, belfry, and watch-tower. Coming nearer, the 
building appears larger, and without losing any of its beauty, takes on, little by 
little, a religious aspect ; the turret becomes a spire; the brass, instead of announc- 
ing a knight’s arrival, sounds the Office of the Angelus; the first illusion dis- 
appears, and behold the castle is a convent! 

“In front of the building, in the middle of a huge plaza, is a playing foun- 
tain; the workmanship, imperfect as it was, surprised us more, since we had not 
expected to find in this country, otherwise so far removed from the comforts 
of Europe, this sort of luxury, reserved among us for the dwellings of the 
wealthier classes.” 


In speaking of the church and the almost insuperable difh- 
culties connected with building in the province, Duhaut-Cilly 
has this to say: 


“The front of the church is ornamented with six half-columns that support 
a triangular pediment relieved by a few statues of saints. . . . This form of 
the structure would excite no special wonder had it been constructed by Euro- 
peans ; but considering that it is the work of ignorant Indians under the direction 
of a priest; that it is a building erected in a land which, if it does offer all the 


necessary materials, still offers them only in the unworked natural state to the — 


hand that would utilize them; surely, indeed, one must admire the extreme patience 
of the father, his ability, and the care he exercised in the direction of the work.” 


The church, built entirely of sandstone blocks, is 175’ long 
and 40’ wide at the nave, and has walls some 6’ in thickness 
strengthened by heavy buttresses. The towers, 19’ x21’ and 
19’ x 24’, respectively, on plan, are practically of solid stone 
masonry up to the belfries. The one at the right is solid, while the 
one at the left is solid with the exception of a narrow spiral stair- 
way that leads to the belfry. The belfry of the right-hand tower 
is accessible only by means of a flight of steps that leads over the 
roof directly behind the pediment. 

The fachada of the church (p. 221) is unique in design and is 
the only structure of the whole mission chain that has so much of 


*Duhaut-Cilly: Op. cit.; I, 270-280. 


PLSD) 





NTA BARBARA, FACHADA OF CHURCH 


MISSION SA 














PLATE X FROM SPANISH VITRUVIUS 


MONKS’ GARDEN 


MISSION SANTA BARBARA 





i ABR eau 


i 
i 
‘fg 
i 
6 
i 





INTERIOR OF CHURCH 


ARBARA, 


MISSION SANTA B. 


THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA 223 


the classic in its make-up. This use of classic elements in con- 
nection with the more or less florid and flowing Spanish-Colo- 
nial forms has been the source of a considerable amount of 
criticism. While the mixture of “styles,” so totally unrelated 
in spirit, is regrettable, it must be remembered that the padres, 
not trained as architects, were really more interested in spiritual 
affairs than in the hair-splitting differences of architectural style. 
Padre Ripoll, who was the designer of the church, knew, prob- 
ably, very little regarding the handling of artistic matters. His 
concern was to get as permanent and dignified a house of worship 
as was possible under the circumstances. That he succeeded to a 
degree commendable in every respect, when compared with like 
results in our age, will be granted by any serious student. 

In the absence of architects or even of good workmen, the 
practical and business-like Padre had access to whatever of 
architectural literature was obtainable in the province and to this 
end made use of a book still to be seen in the mission library. This 
book, a Spanish translation of the Latin Vitruvius, contained 
plates of the orders of architecture, and Plate X of this volume 
furnished, most certainly, the inspiration and design for the 
fachada, as a comparison of the two will indicate. The Padre 
and his dusky laborers did the best they could to give the church 
a measure of that stately magnificence due the House of God. 
The spirit and motive were commendable; we should be loath to 
criticize the results too seriously. 

The interior of the church is not so interesting as the exterior. 
As one approaches the high altar from the main portal, he notes 
upon the left an entrance that communicates with the corridor 
of the mission-house and the spiral stairway of the belfry. Just 
beyond are six chapels, three upon either hand. The first on each 
side is built into the heavy masonry walls of the nave, while the 
remaining four, simple altars with paintings above them, stand 
inside the nave walls. Beyond, side portals give access, on the 
right, to the mission cemetery, or, on the left, to the “ Monks’ 
Garden.” Flanking the sanctuary upon the extreme left are the 
sacristy and choir-room. 

The interior is amply lighted by splayed Moorish windows, 
between which stand the flat pilasters that break the walls into 


224 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


bays. The roof of heavy beams which covers the nave is ceiled 
on its under side and embellished with curious carved and 
painted decorations, that are referred to locally as the “ thunder- 
bird” ornaments. These curious designs, executed by dusky 
Indian artists, were copied by them from the winged-distaff 
decorations of the soffit of the Doric entablature figured on 
Plate XX XIII of the Vitruvius already mentioned. Seeing 
the ornament with its wings and barbed-lightning tongues, the 
Indians attributed to it a pagan meaning, and, hailing it as a 
familiar symbol, enthusiastically accepted it, to the great delight 
of the Padre who wanted the church decorated. 

The beautiful old Stations of the Cross that adorn the walls 
of the nave came to California from Mexico in 1797, while the 
paintings, of which there are many at Santa Barbara, have been 
acquired at various times. In 1798 six large oils, eleven feet 
wide and fourteen feet high, were sent from Mexico to adorn the 
six side-chapels of the church of that day. 

In a tomb upon the Epistle side of the main altar rest the 
remains of Father Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, first 
Bishop of California. It was the expressed desire of the Prelate 
that his remains be not placed in the crypt, and thus a tomb was 
prepared especially for him. The front of this tomb consists of 
a panel flanked by Ionic half-columns bearing a denticulated 
pediment. The panel is adorned by the arms and seal of the 
Bishop and an inscription in Latin. 

But Santa Barbara is the resting-place of other famous 
priests and important civilians. The crypt under the church was 
a favorite burial-place for the early padres and for the more 
important laymen of the community. Two slabs in the floor bear 
inscriptions telling of the burial beneath of important laymen 
and eleven padres. 

When the period of secularization came Santa Barbara 
suffered, as did most of the missions. The inventory of 1834 
showed a total valuation of $110,668, but a great part of this 
wealth slipped away through mishandling of the funds by the 
Mexican officials appointed to administer the properties. In 
1843 Governor Micheltorena ordered the properties returned 
to the padres, but even at that time the padre-in-charge had the 








CORRIDOR, INTERIOR 


FRONT CORRIDOR 





-BASIN 


FOUNTAIN AND LAUNDRY. 


RBARA 


DOORWAY OF MISSION HOUSE 


MISSION SANTA BA 


15 


226 





ARBARA. FACHADA 


AR 


SANTA B 


MISSION 





THE TOWER FROM THE CEMETERY 


ARBARA. 


MISSION SANTA B 


THE MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA 227 


greatest difficulty in supporting the three hundred Indians who 
remained at the mission, whereas in 1803 the same lands had 
supported nearly eighteen hundred. 

Governor Pico’s decree of 1845 reserved the church and 
monastery for the use of the Bishop, Rev. Garcia Diego, who 
arrived in 1842. The lands, orchards, and other properties were 
let out at an annual rental of $1200 and eventually sold in 1846 
to Richard S. Den for $7500. Finally the United States Land 
Court in 1865 returned to the Catholic Church of California 283 
acres, including the buildings, which of course had not passed 
out of the padres’ hands. In 1853 Santa Barbara was made a 
hospice and eventually an Apostolic College for the training of 
Franciscan missionaries. 

Besides the buildings, fountain, and water-system, any review 
of the interesting features of this old mission-house would be 
incomplete without some mention of the “ Monks’ Garden” 
and the cemetery. In each of these enclosures are to be found 
many rare plants and semi-tropical trees. Formerly the ‘“ Monks’ 
Garden ” was especially beautiful, with its fine Italian cypresses 
planted by Bishop Diego, its central fountain, and its winding 
paths, bordered with rare botanical specimens. Women, except 
reigning queens and the wives of American presidents, are never 
admitted to the garden. An exception was once made, however, 
in the case of the wife of the Governor-general of Canada. 

The cemetery, though very small in area, is said to contain 
the relics of at least 4000 Indians and many Spanish Americans. 
Some years ago the city of Santa Barbara forbade the further 
public use of the cemetery and the gateway was walled up. 
Modern concrete vaults above ground care for the burial of 
members of the order at the present time. 

In addition to the various pieces of furniture, paintings, and 
other relics of interest to be seen in the church and about the 
buildings generally, there are in the museum. of the mission 
numberless objects coming down from old mission days, among 
them early examples of tiles, bricks, clay pipes for conducting 
the water about the mission grounds, many excellent pieces of 
old ‘“ mission” furniture, several old candelabra, and various 
ecclesiastical objects. 


228 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Santa Barbara had one of the best and most complete of the 
mission libraries. ‘This collection contains, besides books, a 
wonderful fund of documentary and archival material of great 
value in the writing of Californian history. This material Father 
Engelhardt has utilized to the full in the writing of his illuminat- 
ing and valuable histories of mission days. In this library, among 
other things, are the architectural work already mentioned, a 
work upon “ Civil Architecture,” and a treatise upon agriculture, 
which, doubtless, the padres used in the operation of their 
great estates. 

Taken altogether, Santa Barbara, partly on account of her 
fine setting, her lovely garden and peaceful cemetery, and partly 
on account of the fine preservation of her buildings, remains one 
of the most interesting and beautiful relics of the Spanish-Colo- 
nial period and easily one of America’s foremost historic shrines. 


As the proof of this chapter was being read came the sad news 
of the earthquakes of the latter days of June. The upper stages 
of the towers of the mission church collapsed and the pediment 
between them was reduced to débris, while the upper story of the 
mission house was shattered and broken and the upper floor pre- 
cipitated into the apartments below. Fortunately, although the 
great tremor came while early service was in session, no one was 
injured. The massive walls of the church and fachada remain 
undisturbed, and the Father Superior announces that this beauti- 
ful old relic will be restored to its original splendor. 





Franciscan Arms 
Santa Barbara 


CEs Ile Roe 1X 
THE MISSION OF SANTA INES 


F THE three missions of Alta California named in honor 
() of sainted women, that of Santa Barbara has been dis- 
cussed. Of the two remaining, Santa Clara de Asis and 
Santa Inés, the latter forms the subject of this chapter. Santa 
Inés is the Spanish equivalent for Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr, 
who, born a Christian in Rome, suffered martyrdom at thirteen 
years of age during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The story 
goes that the Prefect Sempronius wished her to marry his son 
and upon her refusal condemned her to be outraged before her 
execution. Her honor was miraculously preserved, however, and, 
when led out to execution, the fagots for her burning refused to 
ignite. The officer in charge, angered, whipped out his sword 
and struck off her head. She is considered the patron saint of 
young girls who formerly upon Saint Agnes’ Eve, especially in 
the rural districts, resorted to magic to discover whom they were 
tomarry. Keats’ poem, the “ Eve of Saint Agnes,” is based upon 
this quaint custom. Her relics are supposed to rest in the Church 
of Saint Agnes at Rome. 

Santa Inés lies in a beautiful situation in the back country of 
Santa Barbara County some thirty-five miles northwest of Santa 
Barbara, from which it is reached by way of the beautiful San 
Marcos Pass. The most satisfactory way to approach the mission 
by train is to take the Southern Pacific Coast Line to Gaviota 
station. From here one goes by stage seventeen miles through 
the foot-hills and valleys to Solvang, for this ancient mission, after 
these many years, finds itself today adjacent to the little village 
of that name. Solvang is a Danish colony which has grown up 
within the last few years upon the grounds that were once a part 
of the mission’s broad acres. That the soil and climate are 
unexcelled is attested by the prosperity of the colony, which, in 
addition to the regular advantages found in a community of this 
character, supports a Danish College. 

This mission, the nineteenth in the chain, was established 
when, on September 17, 1804, Padre Estévan Tapis, presidente 
of the missions, assisted by Padres Calzada, Gutiérrez, and 


229 


230 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Cipres, blessed the site and dedicated the establishment in the 
presence of Comandante Carrillo of the Santa Barbara Presidio, 
the guard, and neophytes from Missions Santa Barbara and 
Purisima. A number of the latter remained as permanent resi- 
dents of the establishment. 

Padres José Antonio Calzada and José Romualdo Gutiérrez 
were the first ministers of the mission. Padre Calzada, a native 
of Cuba, had been at Mission San Gabriel from 1788 until 1792 
and at Purisima from 1792 until 1804, during which time he had 
a two years’ leave of absence (1786-1789), which was spent in 
Mexico. He was at Santa Inés continuously from 1804 until 
1814, during which time he had as religious companions Padres 
Gutiérrez, Gil, Olbés, Tapis, and Uria. As the first minister of 
any permanence he, doubtless, influenced the development of 
the institution immensely. That there is considerable resem- 
blance between the plan and general disposition of the church of 
Santa Inés and that of San Gabriel the writer believes is attribu- 
table to Calzada’s influence and that of Padre Francisco Javier 
de Uria, both of whom had served at San Gabriel. Father Uria 
came to Santa Inés as supernumerary in 1808 and was in charge 
from 1810 until 1824, and thus during the period in which the 
present church was erected. 

Padre Calzada died at Santa Inés December 23, 1814, just 
two years after the earthquake of 1812 had thrown down a corner 
of the first church. This church was of adobe, and, although not 
elaborate, was of considerable size and roofed with tiles. Pend- 
ing the rebuilding of this edifice, the padres immediately con- 
structed the long structure (marked D on the plan) later used 
as a granary. This, completed in 1813, served as a worshipping- 
place until 1817, when the present church, begun two years before, 
was completed and dedicated upon July 4. 

The padres’ house was completed in 1813 and with the church 
helped to complete the patio in its present form. In 1816 the 
mission reached its greatest population of 786 neophytes, and, 
although crops and cattle increased for some years after this, the 
population steadily declined until secularization. One reason 
for this, doubtless, was the Indian disturbances of 1824 and after. 
Of the Indian revolt of 1824 Santa Inés was the centre, and, 


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THE MISSION OF SANTA INES 233 


although the mistreatment of an Indian at Mission Purisima was 
cited as the reason for revolt, the actual hostilities began at Santa 
Inés. On Sunday, February 21, Padre Uria, awakened from his 
siesta and compelled to defend the mission, is said to have seized 
a musket and to have killed two Indians and broken the arm of 
a third before he gained the patio, where the guard was attempt- 
ing a defence. There was no feeling against the padres, especially 
Father Uria, who was known and loved for his jolly disposition 
and his generosity to his Indian wards, but only against the 
soldiers, with whom the Indians frequently clashed and by whom 
they were frequently mistreated. 

Sergeant Anastasio Carrillo came up from Santa Barbara 
with a small escort to reinforce the guard of Santa Inés, but the 
trouble was settled through the persuasion of the padres rather 
than by the bullets of the soldiers. Some of the buildings are said 
to have been burned, but, since no records of restoration appear 
in the papers, it is difficult to say which ones were affected. 

The church (p. 46) is of adobe faced with brick; the mission- 
house of adobe with corridors of brick across the front and in the 
patio. All the buildings are roofed with burned tiles. Heavy 
buttresses, used doubtless as an earthquake protection, stiffen the 
walls along either side of the church. The fachada, like that of 
San Gabriel or San Fernando, is singularly plain, consisting of 
a simple, low-gabled wall, pierced by a circular-headed door, 
with window above, and flanked by flat pilasters. 

At the north of the church originally stood a heavy campa- 
nario of brick and adobe. This tower, having fallen into disrepair, 
collapsed in 1910, but has been replaced by a belfry of reinforced 
concrete. Although the outlines of the original belfry have been 
followed in the new, the number of arches has been altered, so 
that for two in the lower tier of the original there are three in 
that of the present. The somewhat thin proportions of the hollow 
concrete shell, moreover, belie the ancient robust strength of the 
original, a quality retained by the church with its buttressed walls 
(p. 101) and deep revealed windows. 

Upon the interior, the church consists of a long, narrow nave, 
25’ x 73’, with choir over the eastern entrance and sanctuary at 
the west end. The lateral walls are broken by flat pilasters which 


234 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


are similar in detail to those of the fachada. The windows are 
high in the walls, while doors open upon the north into the 
cemetery and upon the south into the patio. Even to this day the 
church interior retains much of its ancient splendor, and, 
although a portion of its walls have been whitewashed, some of 
the original Indian paintings remain in the sanctuary and in the 
sacristy. The old tile pavement is still almost wholly intact and 
many original pieces of furniture, including two fine confessionals 
with Indian carvings and many altar ornaments, are still in place. 
The ancient pulpit, which originally hung from the south wall 
just in front of the patio door, having decayed, fell with Father 
Basso, the predecessor of the present priest, as he preached to 
the Indians one morning. 

Santa Inés possesses some of the handsomest brass and silver, 
together with some of the most beautiful vestments to be found 
among the missions. Among them are many fine copes and 
chasubles of silk and gold brocade. These are probably in exist- 
ence today because of the extreme inaccessibility of the mission, 
which, until the recent highway development, was very seldom 
visited. In the sacristy is a good old chest of drawers contain- 
ing many altar relics, including hangings, a number of fine can- 
dle-sticks in wood and brass, and old vessels of gold and silver. 
Upon the walls of the nave still remain the old Stations of the 
Cross and in the sanctuary and sacristy a number of excellent 
paintings principally from Mexico. 

Santa Inés was secularized in 1836, at which time José M. 
Ramirez was appointed receiver. In the inventory of August 1, 
1836, the properties were valued at $56,437, the value of the 
church being estimated at $4000 and described as a building with 
walls of adobe, roofed with tile and floored with brick. The 
church ornaments were valued at $6251 and the mission library 
of 66 volumes at $188. 

Between the years of 1837 and 1840 Francisco Cota was com- 
isionado, but so many charges of his mismanagement of the 
properties were lodged with the provincial administration that he 
was at length removed. In 1843 the mission and lands were 
again placed in the hands of the padre, who continued to officiate 
as parish priest until December, 1845, when the estate was 


THE MISSION OF SANTA INES 235 


rented to José M. Covarrubias and Joaquin Carrillo. Six leagues 
of land and the mission buildings, however, were reserved for 
the use of the college that had been founded here the year before. 
In June, 1846, the lands were sold to the above-named lessees for 
$7000, and, although these men held possession until 1848, their 
title was eventually declared invalid. In 1850 the Bishop made 
claim in the United States courts for Santa Inés, among others. 
This claim for the church and immediate grounds was finally 
sustained in 1855. 

In 1850 the college was abandoned, and, from that day down 
to the time of recent restoration, the buildings were given over 
to owls, bats, and the mercies of the elements. Father Buckler, 
the present priest, came to the mission some twenty years ago. In 
that time he has collected and spent in excess of $23,000 upon the 
restoration of the properties. Thus, by doing much of the work 
with his own hands, he has made a habitable place of the mission- 
house and a decent temple of the church. 

A call upon Father Buckler was one of the pleasures of a 
recent trip of the writer to the Pacific Coast. The sure hospitality 
of the genial Padre, the pleasant surroundings, and the delightful 
scenery make a trip to Santa Inés quite worth while, to say nothing 
of the fine treasures in the way of brass, silver, and vestments that 
the mission church and the padres’ museum contain. What Santa 
Inés lacks in architectural detail she makes up in historic and 
beautiful relics. 





Patio, Santa Inés 


CEPA PE haps 
THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 


LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION, SAN LUIS OBISPO 
SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 
NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD 


LMOST midway between San Diego and San Francisco 
and extending from the Santa Barbara Channel to the Bay 
of Monterey stood a group of mission establishments often 

spoken of as the “ middle missions.” This group consisted of five 
missions: La Purisima Concepcion, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 
San Miguel Arcangel, San Antonio de Padua, and Nuestra 
Senora de la Soledad. Of this group only San Luis Obispo, San 
Antonio, and San Miguel have any claim to architectural impor- 
tance, and indeed none of these rank in merit with Santa Barbara, 
San Juan Capistrano, or San Luis Rey. 


MISSION LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION 


The southernmost of the middle missions was La Purisima 
Concepcion, which stood five miles from the little town of Lom- 
poc and near the western end of the Santa Inés Valley in Santa 
Barbara County. The location marks the mission clearly as one of 
the Santa Barbara Channel group, in which Padre Serra was 
particularly interested but did not live to see realized. Although 
the date of the institution’s founding is usually given as December 
8, 1787, at which time Padre-presidente Lasuén raised a cross 
and blessed the site, the actual work upon the buildings was 
deferred until about the middle of the next March, when a group 
of soldiers under Sergeant Cota of Presidio Santa Barbara and 
a band of workmen arrived to begin the construction of the mis- 
sion-houses. Early in April the Father-president, accompanied 
by Padres Vicente Fuster and José Arrota, the first ministers of 
the mission, arrived. 

This wild but fertile district supported an intelligent type of 
Indian, and the mission’s attraction for the Indian was soon 
apparent. As early as August seventy-five neophytes had been 
baptized, and within a few years (1804) the mission had reached 
its maximum population of 1522. Thus it will be seen that, if the 

236 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 23, 


mission did not succeed, it was not because of the absence of a 
neophyte population nor because of the lack of intelligence or 
industry on the part of that population. 

The first buildings erected were crude and small and soon fell 
into such a state of decay that it was necessary to replace them 
with more substantial structures. By 1800, apparently, the col- 
lection of material for a new group was under way, and by 1802 
the new buildings, constructed of adobe and roofed with tile, 
were ready for occupancy. 

But Purisima was destined to undergo a series of disastrous 
misfortunes. The great earthquake of 1812 struck here with 
tremendous vigor, and as a result the structures, completed only a 
few years before, were rent and torn and made the easy prey of 
the flood of the river which followed. The ’quake came on the 
morning of December 21 and consisted of two vibrations. As a 
result of these vibrations and the torrential rains and floods, the 
buildings were utterly and irrevocably wrecked. The ruins of 
these structures of 1802 can still be seen near the Lompoc Colony 
and they are still known as “‘ Old Purisima.” 

Padre Payéras was a man of tremendous energy and faith, 
and, although the earthquake had been most destructive, he soon 
busied himself with the work of reconstructing the mission for- 
tunes. The disaster made apparent the necessity of an immediate 
removal of the institution to a better site, and therefore the Padre, 
after temporary shelters were constructed for his charges, began 
the erection of a totally new group of buildings at a site some five 
miles distant and upon the opposite (north) side of the river. 
Here soon he had constructed ample warehouses for the grain, 
which had been planted before the earthquake, and enclosures 
for the live stock. 

La Purisima lays little claim to architectural distinction. 
The ruins indicate that the main mission-house, of which the 
church was simply one of the larger rooms, was a block some 
300 feet long by 50 feet wide with a colonnade, ten feet wide, 
running along its front side. It is to be presumed that wings 
originally connected with this block at either end and projected 
in such a way as to give us the semblance of the usual patio 
arrangement, but these wings no longer remain and all trace of 


238 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


their foundations has long since been obliterated by the cultiva- 
tion of the fields at the rear of the structure. The mission-house 
was mainly of adobe, roofed with tiles, but it was buttressed here 
and there with masonry. The great piers of the colonnade across 
the front were built mainly of stone and brick, but a few of them 
were of adobe. 

The church, a simple apartment some 80 feet long, occupied 
a room on the colonnade side at the southwest end * and its archi- 
tectural treatment varied little from that of the other rooms of 
the structure. The windows, rather low in the walls, are arched, 
but there is little left in the unroofed apartment to testify to any 
glory that the ancient church might have had. © 

La Purisima had an irrigation and water-supply system, the 
source of which was Salsperde Creek, some three miles away. 
This stream was dammed and the water conducted by cement- 
lined pipes to the mission, where it served for domestic as well 
as irrigation purposes. Remnants of this water-system, designed 
and constructed by the resourceful and energetic Padre Payeras, 
may be seen about the mission grounds, while a great round stone 
reservoir, now much overgrown with vegetation, marks the place 
from which the mission pear orchard received its life-giving 
waters. Precipitation in California is erratic, however, and in 
spite of a water-supply system, the drought of 1816-1817 made 
herbage so scarce that many of the sheep of the mission perished. 
The next year a fire destroyed most of the houses in the 
Indian village. 

Throughout all these difficulties and discouragements Padre 
Payéras proved a mountain of strength and optimism and every 
new discouragement brought forth fresh enthusiasm and 
resourcefulness. However, in 1823, the Padre, who for nearly 
twenty years had so ably served the mission, died and the institu- 
tion lost thereby its great guiding hand. 

The next year the Indian revolt, which has been mentioned 
as having started at Santa Inés and as having affected the channel 
missions generally, spread to Purisima, where the Indians, in 
sympathy with the Santa Inés rebels, seized the buildings. The 
guards did their best to defend Padres Ordaz and Rodriguez and 


* The building was not orientated and stands northeast to southwest. 





MISSION LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION 





MISSION SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 


240 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


their own families, but were compelled to surrender when ammu- 
nition gave out. The rebels permitted Padre Ordaz to go to 
Santa Inés to warn the guards there not to attack the Indians of 
La Purisima lest the soldiers’ women and children be killed. The 
Indians, knowing that a fight awaited them when the news of 
the revolt should get to the military authorities, then set about 
to fortify the mission. To this end stockades were built, loop- 
holes were cut in the church walls, and several old cannons 
were mounted. 

La Purisima was not molested for a month, but finally the 
Governor sent down soldiers from Monterey who were to cooper- 
ate with a force sent from Presidio Santa Barbara. Missing each 
other, however, the troops from the capital attacked the mission 
alone. With musket and four-pounder they battered away at the 
walls while a detachment of cavalry went beyond to prevent a 
retreat from the rear of the mission. 

The Indians were not expert with their cannon and of course 
did little damage. The result was that they soon realized their 
small chances for victory and tried to flee, but, being prevented 
by the cavalry, sent Padre Rodriguez, who had remained with 
the soldiers’ families, to intercede with the military. Three 
Spaniards were wounded, while sixteen Indians were killed and 
a large number wounded. Subsequently the ringleaders of the 
first revolt, seven in number, were condemned to death and shot, 
while four others were sentenced to ten years at hard labor. The 
padres were much disappointed with the penalties exacted, but 
the Governor defended the military and thought the penalties 
quite necessary to prevent future revolts. 

This disastrous event did not ruin the mission, as one might 
expect, and we hear in subsequent reports of the production of 
large crops and tremendous amounts of tallow, while in one 
year (1827) the provincial government purchased from the 
mission supplies to the extent of $13,000. At the time of seculari- 
zation, the mission population was on the decline, while the prop- 
erties were appraised at $60,000. The mission was sold in 1845 to 
John Temple for $1100, the church being reserved to the use of 
public worship. Thus, like many another, was ruined the insti- 
tution that Padre Payéras had labored so hard to build up. Only 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 241 


ruins today remain as reminders of the long, sad story of Mission 
Purisima Concepcion. 


MISSION SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 


Mission San Antonio de Padua was the third in Padre Juni- 
pero’s chain and the story of its founding (July 14, 1771) has 
been told in Chapter III. Situated in the heart of the Santa 
Lucia Mountains, San Antonio has a magnificent situation, but, 
due to its inaccessibility, the mission is not well known. In order 
to reach San Antonio it is necessary to take the stage from King 
City south to Jolon, a distance of twenty-five miles. From Jolon 
one may drive to the mission, which is six miles distant. The road 
is through a most beautiful country-side, studded here and there 
with wonderful specimens of California’s matchless live oaks. 
Indeed these trees suggested to the Spaniards a name for the 
little glen—‘‘ La Canada de Los Robles.” 

This section is little affected by the summer dry season and 
is famous for its hot springs, an important one of which is to be 
found at Paso Robles. Bancroft? carries the story of the begin- 
nings of the Mission of Saint Anthony and relates that the first 
dwellings were humble wooden structures protected by a pali- 
sade. It appears that the Indians were gentle, aiding the fathers 
(Miguel Pieras and Buenaventura Sitjar) with food in the way 
of acorns, pinons (pine-nuts), grain, and rabbits, and assisting 
- with the construction of the buildings. 

By the end of 1773 a church and dwellings, all of adobe and 
roofed with tule thatch, had been erected, while the next year 
an irrigation ditch to bring water from the river to the fields was 
completed. Mission records are meagre but it is plain that in 
1787 the church was well equipped and considered one of the 
best in California. It was constructed of adobes, and, after the 
adoption of burned roofing-tiles, a material developed at the 
neighboring mission of San Luis Obispo, its more primitive roof 
was replaced by tiles. This church must not be confused, how- 
ever, with the church the ruins of which remain today. 

The mission reached its greatest prosperity in the period 
between 1800 and 1805, in the latter year of which there were 

* Bancroft: History of California; I, 176. 

16 


242 


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THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 243 


1300 Indians upon the mission farms. This material prosperity 
led the padres to begin, in 1809 or 1810, the erection of the pres- 
ent building. This structure, with the exception of its fachada 
and arched corridors, which are of brick, was, like its predeces- 
sors, constructed of adobes. Alfred Robinson, who saw the 
mission well before secularization robbed it of its prosperity, 
described it as being “in the most perfect order: the Indians 
cleanly and well-dressed, the apartments tidy, the workshops, 
granaries, and storehouses comfortable and in good keeping.” 

At its height the church of San Antonio must have presented, 
in so charming a setting, a lovely and long-to-be-remembered 
picture. Like San Luis Obispo, the church proper is preceded 
by a vaulted narthex some twelve feet wide, which, constructed 
of brick, makes the real fachada for the nave. The lower story 
is pierced by the circular-headed arches—the entranceways. 
Above the entrances stands a unique and beautiful curved gable, 
which, in some respects, is the most interesting in all California. 
It is built in two stages, the upper of which is pierced by a 
central arch, and is flanked by low arch-pierced towers. In the 
arches thus provided originally hung the bells of San Antonio. 

As at San Luis Obispo, the corridor in front of the mission- 
house projects beyond the fachada of the church, thus providing 
in front of that edifice a little church-yard, which was originally 
enclosed by an adobe wall. Apparently, a low rail also originally 
filled the spaces between the brick piers of the arcaded corridor 
of the mission-house. The interior of the church, with its white 
walls, bare except for the Stations of the Cross, its canopied pul- 
pit, confessionals, and simple mission furniture, was a beautiful 
and dignified worshipping-place. 

But glorious and beautiful as she may have been in her prime, 
San Antonio, today almost an utter ruin, is one of the sweetest, 
saddest places in all California. A drowsy May day in this 
beautiful valley is one of life’s real experiences. Nature has her 
own way; silence, complete except for the twittering of the birds, 
reigns supreme; even the breeze is stilled. Through the oaks 
a glimpse of the curved fachada, low towers, and broken arches 
gives the only indication that man has ever been here before. 
Poor, sad San Antonio! The bells are stilled and gone; the 


244 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


few remaining remnants of the buildings are fast returning to 
the mother earth whence they came! 


MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA 


The Mission of San Luis, Obispo de Tolosa (Saint Louis, 
Bishop of Toulouse), was founded September 1, 1772, when 
Padre Junipero, upon his way to San Diego (See Chapter IIT) 
to hasten the supplies from Mexico which lay aboard the trans- 
ports there, paused long enough to select a site and dedicate it 
to the purposes of the future mission. Upon his way south Padre 
Serra stopped at Mission San Antonio, and, delighted by the 
sight of so many Christians, asked Padre José Cavaller to 
accompany him southward for the establishment of San Luis. 
He selected a spot three miles back from the sea in the mountain- 
hemmed valley known as Canada de los Osos (Valley of the 
Bears), because of the many grizzlies that frequented the place, 
where a desirable site, “ with good lands for the raising of 
grain and a beautiful clear stream of water for irrigating” 
was available. 

After the erection of a chapel of boughs and the completion 
of the formalities connected with the foundation, Padre Junipero 
continued his journey southward, leaving Cavaller with a guard 
of five soldiers and two Indians and with provisions in the way 
of fifty pounds of flour, three pecks of wheat, and a box of red 
sugar with which to trade with the Indians. 

Father Cavaller at once began the construction of a little 
chapel, a house for the priest, barracks for the escolta, and a 
stockade for defence. Wild Indians soon began to arrive, bring- 
ing the Padre gifts of venison and wild grains and receiving in 
return sugar and trinkets. With all their friendliness, however, 
the Indians were not at first particularly interested in taking up 
residence at the mission. They had better fare than the Padre 
could provide. Soon, however, the mission began to produce 
corn and beans and these attracted converts. 

The establishment early became the object of attacks by wild 
Indians, enemies of some of the tribes who came to live at the 
mission, and, in 1776, the settlement was attacked in force and 
the roofs burned by the gentiles, who discharged burning arrows 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 245 


into the thatch. Several similar events took place before the 
padres, compelled by the force of circumstances, provided their 
structures with burned-clay tile roofs, the tiles for which they 
began to manufacture here about 1790. These were the first roof- 
ing-tiles made in California, but, once the padres of San Luis 
adopted them, their use spread rapidly to the other establish- 
ments. This simple and almost accidental fact may account for 
the adoption of tiles where we might otherwise have had a 
thatched architecture. 

While Fathers Lasuén and Tapis, both famous as Padre- 
presidentes of the missions of California, were at one time or 
another at San Luis Obispo, the mission’s real prosperity is 
attributed to Father Luis Antonio Martinez, who, in 1798, began 
what was to be a long term of service at the mission. Many 
stories are told of this genial Padre, the fare of whose board, 
especially the wines, was known throughout all California. 
Bancroft,* carries a story that Padre Martinez had discovered 
gold upon the mission lands, and there are stories to the effect 
that the Padre carried away to Spain with him $100,000 in gold 
when he was banished upon the charge of smuggling, in the 
spring of 1830. That he traded with the Yankee traders who came 
to the coast is perfectly well known, and that he carried on this 
trade in open opposition to the provincial laws is pretty well 
established, but that he took aught of the mission wealth with 
him when he was forced, through political animosities, to depart, 
would be exceedingly difficult to establish. This story of the 
Padre’s gold-mining activities must likewise be widely dis- 
counted. Whatever of wealth the mission possessed was probably 
the result of the able Padre’s careful supervision of the mission’s 
agricultural and manufacturing activities, of a careful husband- 
ing of the mission’s fortunes, and of a skill in trading the mission’s 
products for the manufactured articles the establishment needed. 

Padre Martinez is described as “ portly of figure and gruff 
of speech, a jolly hail fellow well met, and hospitable.” He 
seems to have been a keen trader and usually succeeded in turning 
the transaction to his advantage. His frankness of speech and 
fearless demeanor, at a time when these qualities in the clergy 


3 Bancroft: California Pastoral; 200-201. 


246 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


were not welcome, rather than the charge made against him, 
probably account for his difficulties. 

The architectural history of the mission in its early period 
parallels that of most of the establishments. In its later period, 
Padre Martinez, with the sure eye of a good business man, sens- 
ing the trend of political affairs and the fact that secularization 
was not far off, did not burden himself with keeping the struc- 
tures in repair. Thus we may say the buildings were already in 
disrepair when the Padre retired in 1830. 

In 1836 the inventory showed property to a value of $70,000, 
but this was rapidly dissipated, with the result that, by 1844, there 
were neither lands nor cattle and the Indians were scattered. 
This was probably the result of Governor Micheltorena’s decree 
of 1843, which converted the establishment into a pueblo and 
made a parsonage of the mission-house. The other buildings 
were sold by Pio Pico in 1845 to Scott, Wilson, and McKinley 
for $510. 

Lasuén, in his Informe of 1793,* mentions the ‘“ new church 
of adobes with a tile roof” and says that at the same time “a 
portico was added to its front.”” This was probably the church, 
which, so badly despoiled by so-called repair, restoration, and, 
finally, fire, bears little resemblance to its old solid and sub- 
stantial self. 

The buildings, true to the Californian tradition, were dis- 
posed around a patio; the church, flanked by the cemetery upon 
the north; the padres’ house, relieved by a colonnaded portico, 
upon the east; the remaining shops and storehouses of the mission 
occupying the south and west sides. The patio itself was divided 
into four unequal areas by intersecting grape-arbors which 
covered the walks, while the northeastern quarter of this area 
was laid out as a garden. At the present time only the smallest 
indications of the south and west flanks of the patio remain, 
although the east (front) flank and the church, so far as the 
original walls are concerned, are almost complete. 

The change in the street grade at San Luis, which resulted in 
placing the colonnaded portico atop a high retaining-wall, made 
ridiculous that pretty and serviceable feature, imparted a certain 


*MS. in Bancroft Collection, University of California. 


247 





MISS 
ISSION SAN-LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA. FACHADA 











Mission 
San Luis Obispo f|- Ruined Walls 
ae ra 


Shaded Areas 10 longer exist- 4 
ing -Black Walls the Originals. | 









































Narther wai 
| 


' i | remove 
i 2 | 


A) iow Covered with Wood | 
—Colonnade now removed —~ | 
‘This Portion now removed 

~RNewcorm bDel~ 





LAM NI 





MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA. INTERIOR OF CHURCH 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 249 


restlessness to an otherwise solid, static, and craftsmanlike struc- 
ture, and finally forced its destruction. In front of the church 
the simple and solid gate-posts and wall that originally enclosed 
the church-yard have completely disappeared and instead a poor 
imitation of a balustrade, with turned balusters, takes its place. 

The church, to be sure, has suffered in various ways. The 
little triple-arched narthex or vestibule, with belfry above, that 
originally preceded the nave and formed the fachada therefor, 
after having been cracked by an earthquake, was completely 
removed, thereby doing serious architectural violence to the 
venerable structure. To add insult to injury, the three bells, thus 
removed from their original hanging-places, were placed in an 
ugly, modern, wooden tower, and the mission-house was covered 
with “ siding ” and painted. 

Inside the church the simple open-timber roof has been 
marred by the boarding up of the under side of the beams and 
the hanging therefrom of ridiculous lighting fixtures. It should 
be said, however, that, in the fire of a few years ago, it was this 
ugly ceiling of matched stuff that saved the original beams from 
burning and thus prevented them from falling into the nave and 
wrecking the walls. It is to be hoped that the movement on foot 
in the town will result in the eventual restoration of this mean- 
ingful and character-giving feature of the old church. A genu- 
ine Civic pride should operate to put the edifice, used as the parish 
church, back into its original form, true to the spirit and intent 
of the faithful Franciscan fathers who reared it in simplicity 
and strength. 

The bells of San Luis are three. Two contain inscriptions, 
the same inscription, however, while the third, recast in San 
Francisco from two older bells that had been cracked, is without 
an inscription. The legend given herewith clearly indicates the 
age and place of founding of the bells. It reads: 

“ME FECIT ANO DI 1818. MANVEL VARGAS, LIMA. 
MISION DE SN LUIS OBISPO DE LA NUEBA CALIFORNIA.” 


MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL 
On July 25, 1797, Padre-presidente Lasuén, assisted by Father 
Buenaventura Sitjar, for many years in charge of Mission San 


250 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Antonio de Padua, selected the site and dedicated the Mission 
of San Miguel—“ Prince of the Heavenly Militia.” The situa- 
tion, some thirty miles southeast of San Antonio and upon the 
Salinas River, was selected principally because of its never-fail- 
ing water-supply, which, it was thought, would serve admirably 
the purposes of agriculture. The springs of the vicinity are still 
famous, and the old irrigation flumes and dams fashioned by the 
padres are plainly to be seen in the neighborhood of the mission. 

Mission San Miguel began under the most favorable circum- 
stances, for, upon the day of founding, fifteen Indian children 
were presented for baptism. Within three years there were 362 
converts, a flourishing herd, and crops to the extent of 1900 
bushels in store. Mission statistics show a gradual progress in 
conversions and the acquisition of herds until 1814, in which year 
the mission reached its maximum population of 1096. Agricul- 
ture had not been so successful, however, nor indeed was it ever 
to be. Notwithstanding this fact, the live stock multiplied until 
the herds in 1820-1822 reached the maximum. San Miguel 
was admirably adapted to sheep-raising, but for some reason 
the accompanying arts of wool-raising and weaving were 
never encouraged. 

Padre Juan Martin, a native of Spain, who had arrived in 
California in 1794, was the priest to whom much of the success 
of the mission must be attributed. Arriving at San Gabriel in 
March, 1795, the Padre had remained there until July, 1796, 
when he came as supernumerary to La Purisima Concepcion, 
where he remained for a year. Transferring to San Miguel in 
August, 1797, a month after the foundation, he gave the rest of 
his life to the upbuilding of the spiritual welfare and temporal 
fortunes of the mission. He died here in August, 1824, and was 
buried in the church beside Father Cipres, who had previously 
been buried here. Thus, although Padre Martin was not in 
reality one of the founders, he was, in a real sense, the builder of 
the mission’s fortunes, lived through her developing period, 
and saw her most flourishing days. 

San Miguel was arranged around the familiar patio, the 
ruined piers and surrounding buildings of which are still in 
evidence. The patio measured about 225 feet in either direction 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 251 


and was flanked upon the side against the mission-house by a 
corridor which doubtless corresponded in form with the one at 
the front of the building. The original mud-roofed, wooden 
church was used until after 1800, and it appears that the present 
edifice, which replaced the original structure, was slow in build- 
ing and was not ready for roofing until 1818. The church is a 
long simple nave, spanned by a heavy-beamed ceiling, and is 
frankly expressed in a simple, low-gabled, and unadorned 
fachada. The church, as well as the mission-house, was partially 
renovated in 1901, at which time the exterior walls were covered 
with white cement stucco. 

The simple bare exterior walls of the church are not of great 
interest, but the interior, due to its curious and ostentatious wall- 
paintings, is full of interest. The walls of the nave are decorated 
by a series of columned bays of the Doric order, painted directly 
upon the plaster, which carry above them a painted entablature 
that in turn supports a painted balustraded balcony. The “ bays ” 
thus defined form a background for the Stations of the Cross, 
which, neatly framed, hang upon the walls. The ample sanctuary, 
with its somewhat elaborately painted reredos and its pulpit 
with domical canopy, makes an interesting climax, toward which 
the horizontal bands of “ entablature ” and “ balcony ” direct the 
eye. This decorative work remains essentially as it was in the 
old days. It was done by a Spaniard, by name Murros, who, 
assisted only by the Indians, executed it about 1820. The designs, 
as evidenced by their architectural subject-matter, were doubtless 
copied from some book of orders in the possession of the Padre. 

The old mission-house, with its white irregular arches, its 
expanse of red-tile roof, and its interesting chimney, makes a 
pretty picture under a white California sun, but on the whole 
San Miguel, in spite of the fact that it is a parish church, is des- 
olate and forlorn. 


MISSION NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD 


The ruins of the Mission of ‘ Our Lady of Soledad ”’ stand 
four miles from Soledad, a town upon the Coast Lines of the 
Southern Pacific Railway in Monterey County. Here, on 
October 9, 1791, Padre Lasuén located the thirteenth of the Cali- 





MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL. INTERIOR OF CHURCH 


253 


MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL 


MISSION NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD 








254 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


fornia missions at a place that Padre Crespi had given the name 
of Soledad because of its solitude and dreariness. ‘The first minis- 
ters were Padres Diego Garcia and Mariano Rubi. 

Although the site was located on the brown, bleak plains of 
the Salinas Valley, the Padre had confidence that the region 
would supply pasturage for the mission herds and flocks and that 
the ministers could amplify the water-supply by an irrigation 
system. The population of the neighborhood was scant and the 
number of converts for the first year scarcely totalled a dozen. 
The soil, not fertile, required much watering, but, with incessant 
and persistent efforts, the missionaries eventually succeeded in 
increasing their flocks and tillable area. 

Within nine years the neophyte population, due, doubtless, 
to the inducements in the way of shelter and food at the mission, 
had increased to 500, while the mission owned 1000 cattle, several 
thousand sheep, and many horses. In 1805 the population was 
reported as 727, although a few years previously an epidemic had 
greatly reduced the Indians. The zenith of the mission’s pros- 
perity came about 1820, but political chicanery and eventual 
secularization reduced the mission property so materially that, 
by 1825, the inventory showed a valuation, aside from that of the 
church proper, of only $36,000. Within a short time after secu- 
larization the Indians largely deserted the place and the herds 
dwindled. The property was sold in June, 1846, to Feliciano 
Soberanes, founder of the present Soberanes family of Soledad, 
for $800. 

The records of Soledad are very scant and little is known of 
its architectural history. We do know that a new church was 
under course of erection in 1808, but, whether or not this was the 
present ruined structure, it is difficult to say. It is claimed by 
some that the present ruins are those of a church built by Feli- 
ciano Soberanes as late as 1850 to replace the old building that 
had fallen into decay. If, however, any work was done in 1850 
it was probably more in the nature of repairs than of construction. 

We have some knowledge of the superior at the mission at the 
time the church was erected. He was Padre Antonio Mariano 
Francisco Miguel Gaspar Jayme de Seguras, a native of Palma, 
Island of Majorca. He became a Franciscan in his native city 


THE MIDDLE MISSIONS 255 


in 1774 and came to Mexico in 1794, arriving in California the 
next year. He was for one year at Mission San Carlos but was 
in May, 1796, assigned to La Soledad, where he was in charge 
until 1821. If there were plans or designs made for the church of 
1808 doubtless Padre Jayme made them, but, if one may judge 
from old drawings or the ruins, the gentle Padre was more inter- 
ested, as he should have been, in sociological and religious prob- 
lems than in architecture. 

Soledad, like La Purisima Concepcion, the mission which she 
most closely resembles, lays little claim to architectural complete- 
ness. The long, low group of tile-roofed adobe buildings shown 
in our photograph gives a notion of the mission’s appearance 
some years ago. The church which stands at the left is now 
unroofed, the colonnades and corridors have disappeared, and 
the elements are rapidly dissolving the exposed adobe walls, 
which, standing in a thriving and modern farming region, look 
only the more ruined and abandoned. Truly the Mission of Our 
Lady of Solitude has become desolate! 





Mission Arches 
San Fernando 


CHAPTER XXI 


MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO, THE 
““ CATHEDRAL OF CALIFORNIA ”’ 


of the Bay of Monterey and the establishment of the Presidio 

and Mission of San Carlos Borromeo. Monterey was 
destined, in time, to become the capital of the province and San 
Carlos a very important mission. While many of the mission 
structures are more celebrated in legend and story, few churches 
can equal San Carlos in real historic and religious interest. San 
Carlos was the first seat of authority for the mission system and 
may therefore, in some ways, be considered the first ‘ Cathedral 
of California” for, although the Padre-presidente was not a 
bishop in the true ecclesiastical sense, Padre Serra had permission 
to confirm and otherwise perform duties corresponding to those 
of a bishop. This fact, together with the further fact that the 
church is the resting-place of saintly Junipero, serves to command 
for her an attention given to no other Californian shrine. 

Mission San Carlos was named for San Carlos Borromeo 
(Saint Charles Borromeo), an Italian churchman, born at Arona 
in 1538. He was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo, and at a 
very early age entered religion and finally became Archbishop of 
Milan. He was loved for a certain sweet piety but was known 
also for his great religious zeal. He died November 4, 1584, 
which day is celebrated each year at Carmel, and was canonized 
in 1610. 

Padre Serra reached Monterey on June 1, 1770, and two 
days later, on Pentecost Sunday, a temporary altar having been 
erected, he consecrated the ground and celebrated mass under 
the same oak that had sheltered the services of Vizcaino and his 
men a hundred and sixty-eight years before. Within a short time 
the presidio had been staked out and a number of huts erected. 
One of these was consecrated as a church, and a stockade of logs 
surrounding the whole group completed, for a time, the build- 
ing activities. 

As soon as the temporary structures for the mission were in 
readiness and occupied, the Padre-presidente turned his atten- 


|: CHAPTER III has been told the story of the rediscovery 


256 


MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO 257 


tion to the exploration of the adjacent country with a view to 
saving pagan souls. He soon discovered, however, that the 
soldiers of the near-by presidio were a real obstacle to his plan of 
Christianization because they fought with the Indian men and 
debauched the women. Therefore, he decided to remove the 
mission to a point distant enough to be relieved from these 
nuisances but near enough to enjoy protection. He selected a 
beautiful and secluded spot in the little Valley of the Carmelo, 
five miles south of the presidio, and here he began preparations 
for the permanent establishment of Mission San Carlos. 

AU about were abundant pine and cypress forests and near at 
hand was to be found the soft and easily worked, yet durable, 
chalk rock of which the church was eventually to be constructed. 
This beautiful and advantageous situation was soon the place of 
busy building operations, Padre Junipero planning the structures 
and directing their construction. 

Thus the mission was moved to the Carmel Valley while the 
presidio and chapel remained at Monterey. The presidio was 
known as “ EF] Presidio Real”’ (royal fort) and the chapel was 
Calieumeolae Capilla Real’ (royal chapel) because it) later 
became the place of worship of the royal governors, representa- 
tivesin California of the King of Spain. At the time of seculariza- 
tion the church in Monterey, up to this time an asistencia of the 
mission, became the parish church, which it has since remained. 
The new mission in the Carmel Valley, although officially 
christened Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, has passed under 
various names, such as San Carlos de Carmel, Carmelo, and 
Carmel Mission. 

The permission to remove the establishment to the Carmel 
site reached Padre Serra in May, 1771. The San Antonio, which 
brought the letter, carried also ten Franciscans for work in the 
Californian field, and, after these had been assigned to their 
duties and the establishment of Mission San Antonio de Padua 
had been accomplished, Padre Serra was ready to turn his full 
attention to the upbuilding of Mission San Carlos, which was to 
be his ecclesiastical seat and his dwelling-place for the rest of his 
life. Returning to Carmel in August, he found that the lazy 
soldiers had accomplished very little during his absence. There- 


17 


258 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


fore, with a zeal that would do credit to a much younger man, the 
Padre again took up the duties of construction, living the while 
in a little hut. By December the buildings were ready and the 
Father-presidente called Padre Crespi from the presidio as his 
associate. Among the first structures were a temporary church, 
the padres’ dwelling, storehouses, a guard-house, corrals for the 
stock, and the inevitable palisade or stockade to protect the 

little settlement. 

In 1774, seven or eight adobe structures, an oven, and addi- 
tional palisades were constructed and from then on adobe was the 
material of construction for all the buildings except the church, 
which was eventually to be of stone. These adobe buildings have, 
long since, almost entirely disappeared, while the stone church, 
rebuilt, ‘“ restored,” and in fair repair at the present time, was 
almost upon the verge of complete disintegration when, in 1884, 
Father Casanova rescued it and put it in passable shape. 

The general scheme of disposition of the buildings at San 
Carlos was, of course, similar to that of the other California mis- 
sions. As one approached the church, which faced nearly north- 
east, the patio stood at the left, the cemeteries, of which there 
were two, at the right. The patio (p. 31), an irregularly shaped 
but four-sided area, was completely surrounded by adobe struc- 
tures. These, beginning at the eastern (baptistry) corner of the 
church, ran in a direction almost parallel to the longitudinal 
axis of the church for a distance of 178’ before intersecting the 
front (northeastern) range of structures, which, 260’ long, inter- 
sected in turn the southeastern range, 362’ long, leaving the south- 
western range, 300’ long, to complete the enclosure and connect 
with the southern corner of the church proper. This enclosing 
group of structures, varying from 22’ to 35’ in width, was pierced 
at a point half-way along the southeastern range by a gate which 
provided a wagon entrance to the patio. 

These buildings of the quadrangle have been roughly 
handled. Parts of the northeastern range were removed years 
ago to provide road material when the highway in the vicinity 
was improved. The portions just in front of the church, undoubt- 
edly the living quarters of padres, have recently been excavated. 
It is to be hoped that in the not too distant future this very inter- 


MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO 259 


esting and historic portion of the quadrangle may be restored to 
its original form. 
_ The present stone church, so much beloved by every true 
Californian, is probably the third church edifice erected at 
Carmel. The first was of temporary nature and not long used. 
The second was built by Padre Serra himself and described 
briefly by Lapérouse,’ who visited the mission in 1786, thus: 
“We were received like lords of a parish when they make their first appear- 
ance upon their estate; the president of the mission, clothed in his cope, and 
holding the water-sprinkler in his hand, waited for us at the door of the church, 
which was illuminated the same as on their greatest festivals; he conducted us 
to the foot of the high altar, where the Te Deum was sung in thanksgiving for 
the happy success of our voyage. . . . The parish church is very neat, although 


covered with straw; it is dedicated to Saint Charles, and ornamented with fairly 
good paintings, copied from Italian originals.” 


It was in this structure that the venerable Serra was laid to 
rest when he died in 1784. Palou® relates that Padre Junipero 
had said to him: “I wish you to bury me in the church next to 
Father Fr. Juan Crespi, for the present, and when the stone 
church is built, you may place me where you will.”” Accordingly 
he was buried beside his beloved colleague, who had died in 
1783, in the sanctuary on the Gospel side. 

This church for twenty years served the purposes of the com- 
munity. When the English navy captain, George Vancouver, 
first visited San Carlos, in December, 1792, he reported the prep- 
aration for the building of a stone church and the collection of 
material to this end. Actual construction was not begun, how- 
ever, until the ensuing July, in spite of the fact that Manuel 
Estévan Ruiz, a master mason, had arrived during the winter to 
instruct the natives in stone-carving and masonry and to super- 
intend the. building of the church. 

When Vancouver revisited the mission in November, 1794, 
the church was in process of construction and Sykes, the artist 
of his party, made a drawing* which shows upon the left the 
old church, partly tiled and partly thatched, with the rising walls 

*Lapérouse: Voyages de la Pérouse autour du Monde; II, 203. 

* Palou: Vida; 270. 

* Vancouver seems to indicate that this drawing was made in 1792, but since we have 


definite documentary evidence in the mission records of the date of the beginning of the 
structure, this date seems too early. 


260 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


of the new stone church near by. Regarding the materials of 
construction * he had this to say: 

“Some of them (the Indians) were at the time engaged under the direction 
of the fathers in building a church with stone and mortar. The former material 
appeared to be of a very tender friable nature, scarcely more hard than indurated 
clay: but I was told, that on its being exposed to the air, it soon becomes hardened, 
and is an excellent stone for the purpose of building. It is of a light straw color, 
and presents a rich and elegant appearance, in proportion to the labor that is 
bestowed upon it. It is found in abundance at no great depth from the surface 
of the earth; the quarries are easily worked, and it is, I believe, the only stone 
the Spaniards have hitherto made use of in building. . . . The lime they use 
is made from sea-shells, principally from the ear-shell, which is of a large size 
and in great abundance on the shores; not having as yet found any calcareous 
earth that would answer this essential purpose.” 


This, the present stone church (p. 31), was erected, it is 
believed, upon the site of the church of Serra’s day. This notion 
is enforced because in the records there is nothing to show that 
the bodies of Fathers Crespi and Serra were ever removed to the 
“stone church” of which Serra spoke just before his death, an 
event which would certainly have found documentary record, 
had it ever taken place. When Father Casanova, in 1882, prose- 
cuted his search for the graves of Padres Crespi and Serra, he 
followed the ancient burial record, and digging “ in the sanctuary 
on the Gospel side,” he located, identified, and opened the tombs 
on July 3 in the presence of an assemblage of several hundred 
people who had congregated for the event. This discovery in the 
stone church of the bodies known to have been buried in the adobe 
church, coupled with the absence of a notice of the removal 
of the bodies from the old church, would seem to indicate that 
the stone church occupies the same site as the older structure. The 
church, begun in 1793, was four years in the building. It was 
completed and dedicated finally in September, 1797, Padre- 
presidente Lasuén officiating. 

In plan the church does not vary much from the typical mis- 
sion edifice, which consisted of a simple nave with outlying 
sacristies and baptistries. The church, although some 150’ long 
and 29’ wide, inside, does not impress one with its dimensions, 
especially upon the exterior. This is, no doubt, due to the com- 
parative lowness of the walls. 


*Vancouver: A Voyage of Discovery; II, 34. 


261 





MISSION SAN CARLOS DE BORROMEO. THE INTERIOR OF CHURCH BEFORE RESTORATION 


262 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


Towers flank the main portal, the tower at the right, as one 
enters, containing a spiral staircase leading to the choir; the bell- 
tower, at the left, containing the baptistry. Upon the left, as one 
proceeds toward the altar, an ornate doorway opens into the 
chapel, and further on is another, which opened originally into 
the patio. Directly across, the pulpit hangs from the right wall 
and is reached by a stairway from the sacristy, which 1s, in turn, 
reached by a door leading from the sanctuary. The sizes of the 
chapel and sacristy are remarkable for Californian churches. 

The original roof of San Carlos, no vestige of which remains, 
was unique. The nave was divided into four approximately equal 
bays by means of the Doric pilasters still to be seen upon the 
interior walls. These pilasters upheld transverse arches of stone, 
which carried the purlins defining a wooden tunnel vault. The 
vault was hidden by a low-pitched roof, the rafters of which 
were tangent to the vault near the top. This vault was elliptical 
in shape and the walls, which curved out at the top, made a 
transition to it, thus giving to the nave a curious oval-shaped 
transverse section. The curve of this vault is still to be traced in 
the masonry lines at either end of the church. 

This roof, completed in 1797, stood with its tile covering until 
1852, at which time, having fallen into disrepair, it collapsed. 
The church remained without a cover (p. 261) for thirty-two 
years, until, in 1884, it was reroofed and rededicated to worship. 
This period of fifty-five years (1797-1852) is sufficient to estab- 
lish the structural integrity of the edifice and to prove the padres’ 
ability to design and construct an unusual roof. The thrusts of 
the arches were taken by the heavy buttresses, which still flank 
the walls of the church. In restoring the church the original line 
of the wooden vaults has been preserved over the sanctuary only, 
the rest of the church being covered by a lower wooden vault, 
formed by means of beams that cross the nave at the wall height. 

When the roof collapsed most of the tiles were broken. What 
remained were carried away to cover buildings in the neighbor- 
ing town of Monterey. Funds were not available at the time of 
restoration for the replacing of the tiles and as a result the steep- 
er-pitched, wooden roof was resorted to. The falling roof and 
subsequent long period of exposure practically ruined the ancient 


OAWOUNOT AG SOTUAVO NVS NOISSIW 


YUAMOL AHL 


HOWNAHO AO VGVHOVA 


Auedwog Surysyqng yoog peanqzsajz1yory AsazanoD 


Auedwuog Surysyqng yoog yemnqoaqrys1y Asajanoa 








OAWOUAOT AG SOTUVO NVS NOISSIN 
Tad VHO AHL OLNI AVMUOOd YAMOL AHL OL AVMUIVLS 





MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO 265 


floor tiles, a few of which may be seen in place near the chapel 
door. The floor of the nave has been paved with concrete, but 
enough of the ancient tiles were found to repave the sanctuary. 

The fachada of the church, as it stands today, is, of course, 
badly marred by the high-pitched roof, which in no sense resem- 
bles its ancient low-lying forerunner. The original vault is 
recalled upon the fachada by means of a circular pediment 
pierced by a “ stellar ’» window and crowned by a pedestal, which, 
no doubt, at one time held aloft the symbol of salvation. The 
main portal is in many respects the least interesting doorway in 
the whole structure and seems very flat and weak when compared 
with the doors of the interior. 

The most interesting feature of the fachada is certainly the 
staunch square campanario, which is, without doubt, as handsome 
a bell-tower as is to be found among the missions. Its lower story 
is unbroken except for a small window which lights the baptistry. 
The second story, consisting of heavy stone walls, pierced by 
arches, is reached by means of an exterior stone stairway. Above 
this story the tower transforms to a low, octagonal drum, which, 
in turn, carries the egg-shaped dome, surmounted by a large 
finial bearing a wrought-iron cross. The corners of the tower 
proper, as well as those of the drum, are accented by curious 
pinnacles. This tower imparts to the church a quaint oriental 
flavor and must certainly be reminiscent of some Moresque struc- 
ture of Old Spain. Many parts of the belfry have suffered from 
the ravages of the elements, but the whole tower, covered in its 
upper portions with green moss, is a beautiful and picturesque 
mass and one much loved and painted by artists. 

Among the interesting details of the church should be men- 
tioned a doorway found upon the interior of the building. It is 
the entrance to the chapel and one of the most ornate of Califor- 
nian doorways. That its designer had some knowledge of Doric 
architecture and that he handled it in a far better fashion than 
might be expected in an outpost so far removed from civilization, 
will be proved by an examination. Moreover, that it was executed 
by a stone-carver of skill is likewise evident. The mouldings, 
curious as they are, in their combination of classic and Gothic 
forms, show more refinement than is usual in mission structures, 


266 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


and the whole composition a knowledge of architectural form 
scarcely conceivable in a missionary priest. 

Whether the door belonged to the original edifice or was 
built when the chapel was added is not quite plain. It seems 
certain that the chapel itself was built between 1811 and 1820, 
but whether the door was provided at this time is quite another 
question. In spirit and execution the door is in perfect harmony 
with the pilasters along the walls, which are in the Doric style, 
and seems, therefore, to antedate the chapel. If built at the 
same time as the nave, and all internal evidence points to this 
conclusion, the door can be attributed to the mason Ruiz, 
already mentioned. 

Another feature of San Carlos which is absolutely different 
from anything else in the mission chain is the baptistry. The plan 
is almost a square, being 103” by 10’7”, and has its corners cut 
off at forty-five degrees, thus making the room an irregular 
octagon. Against the corners stand quarter-engaged columns in 
the Doric style, with simple bases and capitals, the latter of which 
serve as abaci from which spring the ribs that support a Gothic- 
like vault of stone. The columns, ribs, and mouldings are of the 
yellow stone used for details throughout the church; the “ infill- 
ing ” between the ribs, now whitewashed, is evidently of the same 
material. The original font was carted off years ago and a 
modern one of onyx now occupies its place. Aside from this font 
and a few relics in the way of fragments of tiles, crosses, and 
wrought iron, picked up in excavation, the room is bare. So 
long was San Carlos uncovered, deserted, and neglected, it is a 
wonder that anything at all remains. 

The chapel is as bare as the baptistry but does exhibit upon 
one wall a bit of the original Indian fresco which escaped the 
whitewasher’s brush when the church was restored. The sacristy 
contains a curious old lavabo (lavatory) cut in stone and having 
two basins, one above the other. The upper basin, serving as a 
reservoir, discharges into the lower, and was, no doubt, replen- 
ished by hand. The waste from the lower basin exhausts through 
the rear wall of the sacristy to a point outside the church. 

The present pulpit is modern, the ancient pulpit having com- 
pletely disappeared during the years that the church was 


MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO 267 


uncovered. This pulpit, reached by a broad stairway in the 
sacristy, rests upon a stone bracket which projects from the wall. 
That this bracket should have remained in place seems remark- 
able when we remember that the church roof collapsed, carrying 
down tons of heavy tiles, beams, and stones to the pavement below. 
The bracket at the present time appears perfectly sound and will 
last, doubtless, as long as the church itself. 

Aside from these bits there are some chests and vestment cases 
in the sacristy, but most of the treasures of the church have been 
taken to Monterey for safe-keeping. Among these is a reliquary 
case made by one of the Indians to hold certain sacred relics 
which Padre Junipero prized, among them some Christian bones 
from the Catacombs. 

At the present time the church is administered as a chapel 
of Monterey and is served by Father Mestres, who is striving to 
preserve everything that is historically interesting or valuable. 
He is raising the funds and directing the erection of the struc- 
tures to replace the outlying mission-houses that have long since 
melted down, under the onslaught of the elements. 





Witch Tree, Monterey Coast 


CHAP ILE Re Cx 


LA CAPILLA REAL DE MONTEREY 


of the Californian churches from the ecclesiastical stand- 

point, la Capilla Real, now San Carlos Church, Monterey, 
was just as truly the most important church in a political sense. 
It was the worshipping-place of the royal governors of the 
Californias under Spanish rule, of the Mexican provincial off- 
cials under Mexican rule, and for many years after American 
occupation, the principal church edifice at the capital. Thus the 
old structure has passed through many vicissitudes and has 
witnessed many stirring events, and, although the old presidio 
of which it was originally a part has practically disappeared, the 
church stands as staunch and firm today as in its earlier years. 

The old presidio originally consisted of a quadrangle of tile- 
roofed, adobe buildings which enclosed a court or plaza some 
two hundred varas square. Surrounding the plaza and running 
along the fronts of the buildings was a corridor some ten feet 
wide, the roof of which was carried upon redwood columns. La 
Capilla Real, facing north, stood upon the south side of this 
plaza, forming part of the southern wall. All of these buildings 
were surrounded by a stone wall twelve feet high, the single gate- 
way of which was locked every evening at sunset. At the centre 
of the plaza stood a flag-staff, at the top of which waved the 
Spanish banner with its lion of Castile. 

This plaza and the church were the scenes of many a festival, 
perhaps the most splendid of which was the inauguration, in 1815, 
of Governor Pablo Vicente de Sola, last of the Spanish governors. 
When Governor Sola was appointed, the revolution against Spain 
had already begun in Mexico, and since the Governor was of 
the royalist party and the people of Monterey were largely anti- 
revolutionists and loyal to the mother country, his arrival in Cali- 
fornia was naturally one marked for an unusual demonstration. 

As was usual upon such occasions, the principal military 
officials, the Padre-presidente and priests of the missions, together 
with the “dons” of the ranchos, their families and servants, 
gathered at the capital to welcome the new Governor. Padre- 

268 


| MISSION San Carlos Borromeo was the most important 


LA CAPILLA REAL DE MONTEREY 269 


presidente Sarria asked each of the missionaries to bring with 
him anything that he thought might be of interest to the Governor 
or add success to the event. This request resulted in a number of 
offerings in the way of viands, which graced the table at the 
banquet that followed the inaugural ceremony. Among them 
were domestic and game fowl from Monterey, cordials, wines, 
and olives from San Diego, oranges and pomegranates from San 
Gabriel, figs and preserved dates from Baja California, bread 
and pastry from the wheaten flour of San Antonio, and old wines 
from San Fernando. The supply was so generous, it is said, that 
after the feast was over, five hundred of the villagers were fed 
from the surplus. 

The ceremonies began in the plaza. The corridors were 
decorated for the occasion with pine boughs and huckleberry 
bushes, and among these numberless small lamps were hung. As 
evening came on, these lamps, together with those in the build- 
ings and church, were lighted, producing a very festive appear- 
ance. Early in the evening the people gathered at the presidio 
to promenade in the illuminated corridors and to meet the new 
official. This event was followed the next morning by High 
Mass in the chapel with twenty padres in attendance, assisted 
by a choir of mission Indians. The neophytes were dressed in 
brilliant colors and carried musical instruments, violins, flutes, 
and drums, made in the mission shops. The Te Deum was fol- 
lowed by an eloquent sermon by Padre Sarria. 

After Mass the Governor and staff returned to the plaza, 
where the Governor addressed the people, after which he con- 
gratulated the military officials and the padres for their good 
work. The party then adjourned to the home of the retiring 
Governor Argtello, where the banquet, already referred to, 
awaited the officials. The feast was followed by exhibitions of 
horsemanship, a bull-fight and a bear-fight. 

In the evening a grand ball was given at the residence of 
the comandante, the music being furnished by the best local 
talent, assisted by the mission Indians who had played at Mass 
in the morning. The Governor is said to have been much sur- 
prised to find that the evening clothes were of a style worn in 
Spain forty years before. While they amused him, in view of the 


270) CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


revolutionist rumblings in Mexico, he was nevertheless pleased to 
find the old Castilian costumes still loved and used in so far- 
flung an outpost as Monterey. 

The old presidio, the Governor’s house, and many of the old 
structures that were extant in the days of Governor Sola have 
completely disappeared, but the chapel still stands, serving as 
the Catholic church of the community. To be sure it has under- 
gone transformation in some of its parts. Especially is this true 
of the southern end. Originally the church was not cruciform in 
plan. In 1855 Governor Pacheco donated funds for the enlarge- 
ment of the structure, and, in 1858, the transept, with its two 
ornate doors, and the main altar were added. 

The fachada of the church remains almost “asmerected: 
although the pyramidal roof upon the tower is modern and dates 
from 1893. Access to the tower is had by means of a stairway 
that leads to the choir. The walls of the tower are very thick but 
diminish to 2’5” at the bell level. The bell arches, 3’ wide and 9’ 
high, contain, at the present time, only two bells, both of which 
are modern, as will be observed by their legends: 


“WEED AND KINGWELL, S.F. 1885 ” 
“SAINT TERESA, 1885 ” 
and 


“CAST BY HENRY N, HOOPER, BOSTON} 135555 


The fachada is without exception the most elaborate and 
ornate among the Californian churches. It consists of a circular- 
headed doorway flanked by Roman Doric pilasters, a pair on 
either side, the walls between which are relieved by niches with 
florid, semicircular heads and ornate corbels. The pilasters 
carry a Doric entablature (copied doubtless from some architec- 
tural book of the day), which in turn carries four pedestals, the 
central two of which, flanking the segmental window above the 
door, carry other pilasters that ascend the wall to the second 
cornice, which bears a shell-headed niche at the very top of the 
curved, pedimented gable. This upper niche, framed by appro- 
priate pilasters and a segmental pediment, contains a representa- 
tion of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Just below ‘“ Our Lady” is a 
cartouche bearing the legend “ A. D. 1794,” thus establishing the 





LA CAPILLA REAL. CURVED GABLE 


AQTUALNOW “lYAA VTIdVO VI 
TVLUOd ACIS WUdaLuaA ATVHM AO LNAWAAVd GNV IVLUYOd NIVN 








LA CAPILLA REAL DE MONTEREY 278 


date of the fachada, the building of which, it will thus be seen, is 
contemporaneous with that of Mission San Carlos. Indeed it is 
possible that the same craftsmen under Maestro Ruiz worked 
upon both structures. Especially is this view enforced when the 
architectural details of the two buildings are compared. 

In none of the Californian churches are classic elements so 
much used as at Carmel and Monterey, and in none have the 
mouldings been so delicately wrought as here. While part of 
this refinement may be attributed to better workmen, certainly 
the material as well had its effect. Adobes and bricks do not 
favor delicate moulded work, and most of the Californian edi- 
fices were of these materials. Carmel and Monterey, on the 
other hand, afforded a stone easily worked and fairly durable 
in this genial, favoring climate. Consequently an architectural 
expression, confessedly impossible elsewhere, was the result. This 
distinctly classic design is, in the estimation of the writer, simply 
an afterglow of the classic reaction that in Spain followed the 
florid Churrigueresque of the early eighteenth century. 

If the fachada is decidedly classic in flavor, the windows of 
the flanks of the church are Gothic, but this mixture of the classic 
and the Gothic has already been noted in the baptistry of Mission 
San Carlos. These windows filled, as they are at the present time, 
with modern stained glass appear more like modern innovations 
than the originals. But there is no data to tell one when the 
windows were changed, if changed they have been. 

Among the most interesting of the church’s features is a pair 
of elaborate doorways, one in either transept, and dating, as 
noted above, from 1858. As pieces of baroque design they are 
in every way worthy of the mission period and in perfect keep- 
ing with the fachada. They are the work of an Italian craftsman 
employed by Father Cormillas, then pastor of the church. The 
same workman was responsible for the high altar. 

After the secularization, the mission at Carmel was deserted 
and the priest, Father Real, came to Monterey to reside in 1834. 
The Indians in the vicinity of Carmel were served, to be sure, 
by occasional visits of the Padre to the mission. At this time also 
many of the relics of the mission were transferred to the Monterey 
church. Among them are the fourteen paintings of the Passion 

18 


274 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


of Christ, a statue of Christ, a Saint John the Evangelist, a 
Dolorosa, and the reliquary mentioned in Chapter XXI. 

In the sacristy of Capilla Real is an iron safe to hold the 
sacred vessels. It is about three feet wide and four feet high, 
strapped with heavy iron bands and studded with many knobs. 
The old vestments of mission days, together with the records of 
the church, here preserved, are of great historical interest. The 
sanctuary contains several chairs of oriental design, brought 
doubtless from the Philippines in a day when Monterey was a 
port of the Philippine-Mexican trade. They are of teak and 
ebony and have marble seats and marble discs set into the backs. 
Besides these there are a number of excellent old silver and brass 
candlesticks, the former of which are beautifully engraved. The 
interior of the church has been completely modernized and is 
consequently not of great interest. 

A very curious pavement is to be seen in front of the building. 
At one time Monterey was a great port for whaling vessels, and 
the idea occurred to some one to make use of the vertebre of a 
whale as paving-blocks. These bones, although admirably 
adapted to the use here made of them, would scarcely be able 
to stand the traffic of a modern city street. 

At the rear of the church has been placed for safe-keeping all 
that remains of the historical oak under which Mass was cele- 
brated when Viscaino visited Monterey in 1602, and under which 
Padre Serra celebrated Mass one hundred and sixty-eight years 
later. Some years ago the roots of the tree were injured while 
workmen were constructing a culvert near it. Soon it died and 
was torn out and thrown into the bay. Due to the efforts of 
Father Mestres and other patriotic citizens of Monterey, the relic 
was rescued and placed in the church-yard. A tablet at the base 
of the tree bears the legend: 

“The Junipero Oak: At Monterey June 3, 1770sthercerc. 
mony of taking possession of California by Spain was enacted by 
Father Junipero Serra under the shade of this tree. Placed here 
for preservation by R. M. Mestres and H. A. Green, 1909.” 


CHA ba Re x LT 


THE MISSION OF SANTA CRUZ 


today remains. Santa Cruz, the twelfth in the line of 

missions, was established by Father-president Lasuén 
upon the north shore of the Bay of Monterey September 25, 1791. 
At the foundation ceremonies Chief Sugert and many of his 
dusky followers presented themselves, and, indeed, before the 
end of the year, the records show eighty-four converts. The mis- 
sion gained neophytes rapidly, so rapidly, in fact, that the popu- 
lation reached its maximum of 644 souls within the next seven 
years. While the crops and herds continued to increase after this 
time, the Indian population did not keep pace. In 1800 the 
neophyte population was 492. 

Some of the decline of Mission Santa Cruz may be attributed 
to the fact that the villa (town) of Branciforte was established not 
far away upon the opposite side of the Lorenzo River in 1797. 
The settlers of the town were poor moral examples to the Indians 
of the mission and the padres protested, pointing out the fact that 
the settlement was not only upon mission lands but actually upon 
the Indians’ pasture-ground. Governor Borica, who had selected 
the site of Branciforte and who was very desirous of seeing more 
settlers in the territory, defended the selection of the site and said 
that the Indians were dying out, and that soon there would be no 
need for missions to Christianize them. As early as 1805 there 
was a suggestion to divide the neophytes of Santa Cruz between 
Missions Santa Clara and San Juan Bautista, but this was never 
carried out. 

The padres were energetic from the beginning, and in Febru- 
ary, 1793, the corner-stone of the mission church was laid. This 
church was 30 by 112 feet. The walls, 25 feet high, were of stone 
to a height of three feet, above which they were of adobes, the 
fachada being entirely of stone. The dedication of this church 
took place on May 10, 1794, at which time Padre Tomas de la 
Pena of Mission Santa Clara officiated. Ensign Sal acted as 
godfather and accepted the keys. A large Indian band as well as 
the troops attended and filled the church to overflowing. 


(): THE Mission of Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) not a vestige 


275 


276 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


In 1795 the two remaining sides of the patio were reported 
as completed and the padres now turned their attention to the 
erection of a water-propelled flour-mill. This was in operation 
in time to grind the wheat of 1796, although the winter rains of 
that year seem to have damaged the structure. 

Santa Cruz witnessed the murder of one of its padres in 1812, 
when Father Quintana was called from his bed at night, brutally 
beaten to death, and then replaced in his bed. The Padre had 
been in poor health and the opinion was that he had died in the 
night. Several years later, however, some neophytes, who 
claimed the Father had mistreated them, confessed to the murder. 
Five of the nine who perpetrated the crime were caught and 
punished. The charge against the Father was carefully investi- 
gated by the officials but proved to be without foundation. 

In 1818, when the raider Bouchard, who terrorized the coast 
during the fall of that year, visited northern California, Padre 
Olbés was directed by the Governor to pack up and send every- 
thing movable inland to Mission Soledad for safety. On the 
morning of November 23 Father Olbés and his Indians left for 
Mission Santa Clara, and Comisionado Buelna of Branciforte, 
pursuant to the orders of Governor Sola, went to the mission to 
remove the property. When it was learned that Bouchard had 
not landed, some of the Indians and the major-domo returned 
to the mission. Reaching the church, they found Buelna in 
charge, dismantling everything. They were indignant at first, 
but when the Governor’s order was read, they turned in and 
helped. However, with a good store of liquor in the wine-room, 
spirits ran high, little care was exercised, and the Padre’s trunk 
was forced open and some of his personal articles given to friends 
of the plunderers in the villa. When the Padre learned of this 
he was very indignant, but, as the culprits were punished, he soon 
let the matter pass and returned to the normal mission routine. 
This event was not one, however, to commend the people of 
Branciforte to the padres, and there were frequent difficulties 
between the villa and the mission. In 1823 a second effort was 
made to abandon the mission; this again without success. 

After 1820, population dwindled but crops and herds kept 
up, with the highest number of cattle (3700) listed in 1828. But 


277 





MISSION SANTA CRUZ 
From a Drawing by W. I. Hamby 





JUAN 


SAN 


CASTRO HOUSE 


278 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the mission was not destined to a brilliant success and was among 
the first to feel the effect of the secularization orders. Ignacio del 
Valle in 1834-1835 acted as comisionado and listed the proper- 
ties at $47,000, aside from the lands and church and $10,000 
distributed to the Indians. However, with secularization the 
estate was rapidly dissipated, and four years later Inspector 
Hartnell could find not more than one sixth of what had 
been listed. 

The church stood in fair repair for a time, but in 1840 an 
earthquake and tidal wave wrought havoc with the fabric. At 
the tremor the tower was thrown down and many of the tiles 
broken. Eleven years later the walls, doubtless weakened by the 
quake, fell and human hands completed the destruction. No 
trace of the mission is to be found at the present time. 





CHAPTER XXIV 


MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 


() of the quaintest towns in all California is San Juan, 


the site of Mission San Juan Bautista. As one spins 

along the gleaming Camino Real from Sargent’s Station 
(San Juan is off the railroad) and into San Juan, it is difficult to 
realize that not far away upon the left stands one of the most 
interesting of the old Spanish missions, together with a number 
of quaint old houses coming down from Spanish days. But one 
square from the modern business street is to be found the old 
Spanish plaza, one of the sunniest, dreamiest of places. Sur- 
rounded by rows of locust trees, it is flanked upon the north by 
the mission, upon the west by the Castro House and the old Plaza 
Hotel, and upon the south by the Zanetta House. The east side 
looks down over a peaceful valley with its mission orchards and 
old mill. This old plaza was in days gone by the centre of civic 
life, but, since the coming of the cement-plant, automobiles, and 
modern highways, it is quite outside the scheme of things except 
for those who seek the romantic and beautiful. 

The block plan will give some notion of the relation of the 
plaza to the mission, the pleasant corridors of which face the 
greensward (p. 44). Entering the corridors at the west end, 
one follows along the tile-paved arcade to the various doors of 
the mission-house, or on to the church proper. Just in front of 
the church with its frank and honest fachada is a delightful little 
garden planted with cropped cypresses and myrtle. 

Access to the patio is gained through a door, about half-way 
along the corridor. The patio (p. 44) is delightfully overgrown 
and full of color, the green of the vegetation being enhanced by 
the many roof planes of corridor and mission-house, which, 
covered with their original tiles, are lovely in color and texture. 
The church stands at right angles to the house and is entered 
directly from the patio, either through the sacristy or through the 
ruined walls of the side-chapel. Ruined as the side-aisles are at 
the present time, the church appears more like an open-air sanc- 
tuary than a dimly lighted Christian temple. 

In plan the church proper, with its long, narrow nave and 


279 


280 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


side-chapels, is cruciform. The lateral walls of the nave are 
composed of arcades of brick, carried upon piers, the arches of 
which have been filled in with curtain-walls of adobe masonry, 
thus cutting off completely the side-aisles which flank the nave. 
From internal evidence it would seem that the padres found no 
need for the side-aisles at the time the structure was occupied, and, 
as a consequence, had them cut off, or else that the arches were 
blinded when the structure was built, with the idea of making 
the church a three-aisled basilica, as the population demanded. 
At any rate it appears that only the first two bays of the aisles 
were utilized, and these as side-chapels. The aisles appear more 
as long, flanking corridors than as integral parts of the church. 
But this arrangement is absolutely unique in mission architecture 
and is the nearest approach to a three-aisled basilica in the whole 
mission chain. 

At the front, the baptistry, with its rude stone font, flanks the 
church upon the west, the mortuary chapel, connecting with the 
cemetery, upon the east, while at the rear, either side of the sanc- 
tuary, sacristies are found. In front of the baptistry is a tower, 
built presumably to replace an older belfry. This tower, one of 
the worst of modern innovations, mars the venerable old structure 
from every aspect. 

Suspended from the wall upon the west side of the nave is 
the ancient wooden pulpit, reached by a stairway in the side- 
aisle. From this old pulpit, it is said, Padre Arroyo preached to 
the Indian listeners in thirteen different dialects, but in our day 
no sermon is heard from the old pulpit, for the church is not used 
except upon very special occasions. 

Our photograph (p. 285) will give an impression of the inte- 
rior as it appeared some years ago, but not before the ancient 
Indian wall-paintings in brown and green had been obliterated 
or before the honest open-timber roof had been obscured by a 
ceiling of tongue-and-grooved material and painted in a most 
vulgar fashion. This ceiling belongs, doubtless, to the same period 
as the atrocious belfry. The altar has now been dismantled and 
the saints and paintings carried to a place of safety in the museum 
of the mission-house, but one can reconstruct for himself the 
splendid appearance the nave must have presented upon some 


281 











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DOORWAY 


GARDEN IN FRONT OF CHURCH 


MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 


MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 283 


great feast-day of long ago. The church dimly lighted, the pene- 
trating rays of the California sun filtering in through the narrow 
windows of the clerestory and piercing with broad golden bands 
the incense-laden atmosphere; the altar resplendent in the hang- 
ings appropriate to the season and ablaze with numberless can- 
dles, gilding in light the robust timbers of the dark roof-trusses 
above; the padres busy with the Mass; the Indian choir chanting 
in clear but untutored voices some favorite composition coming 
down from ancient days; a thousand dusky children kneeling and 
arising in response to the service; ah, what a scene! Barbaric?e 
Yes, but splendid; a veritable marriage in one religious service 
of what is, upon one hand, wild, barbaric, untutored, upon the 
other, cultured, historic, artistic. In such a scene as this the 
architectural forms, crude as they may be, become highly interest- 
ing as a setting and background for the human element, and, in 
this sense, just as sacred as the carved pillars and storied windows 
of cathedrals across the sea. 

But San Juan Bautista must have witnessed many such a scene, 
for she was at one time one of California’s most prosperous estab- 
lishments. The mission was founded on June 24, 1797, when 
Padre-presidente Lasuén, aided by Padres Catala and Mar- 
tiarena, and accompanied by Corporal Ballesteros and an escolta 
of five men, blessed the site and dedicated the establishment to 
Saint John the Baptist. The site was:a fertile one, and within two 
years a crop amounting to some 2700 bushels was taken, while 
already the neophyte population numbered some 516 souls. 

The padres had their troubles, however, during the early 
years of the mission. In 1798 the hostile Indians interfered to 
some extent with mission activities and even threatened to destroy 
the establishment, but, after a certain military strength was 
demonstrated by Captain Moraga, who was sent to bring in the 
offenders, the difficulties subsided. These disturbances were fol- 
lowed by a series of earthquakes which so badly cracked the adobe 
walls of the structures, that, for some time, the padres and neo- 
phytes were compelled to sleep outdoors for safety’s sake. 

In June, 1803, the corner-stone of the present church was laid, 
Padre Viader, assisted by the resident priests, conducting the 
ceremonies. Among others present were Don José de la Guerra, 


284 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


who acted as sponsor, Captain Font, and Doctor Morelas, army 
surgeon. The work, thus begun, continued for nine years, at the 
end of which time, June 23, 1812, the edifice was dedicated. 

June 3, 1809, seems to have been a date of some importance 
in the chronology of the edifice, for the records bear an entry to 
the effect that upon this date the image of Saint John the Baptist 
was placed upon the altar in the sacristy, which served as wor- 
shipping-place until the main church could be completed. It is 
apparent that the altar of the nave with its reredos (still in place) 
was not completed until 1818, in which year it was dedicated. 

The Mexican painter hired to decorate the reredos and altar 
demanded six reals per day (about $.75) for his services. ‘This 
was considered beyond the mission’s means, and, accordingly, the 
Yankee Felipe Santiago, or Thomas Doak, who had reached the 
country upon a Boston sailing-vessel, was hired to do the work. 
Remembering that, in addition to this pay, the mission furnished 
board and lodging, it will not be difficult to understand why the 
Yankee, noted generally for driving stiff bargains, would be con- 
tent with a wage of less than six reals. He was apparently glad 
to get on solid ground again and to share for a long period the 
hospitality of the padres and the fare of the mission. That he 
made good paint is attested by the remains of the color still extant, 
but that he was not an artist is also apparent. 

The old mission-house (p. 44), a portion of which is used 
for a museum, is very interesting, the kitchen with its masonry 
ovens being especially well appointed and in better preservation 
than that of any other mission. In the museum are to be seen 
many fine old vestments, candlesticks, processional torches, saints, 
Stations of the Cross, paintings, and furniture. Especially inter- 
esting and of beautiful design are the various candlesticks and 
altar ornaments of wood, silver, and brass. Perhaps the most 
curious object in the whole collection is a barrel-organ, manu- 
factured in London by Benjamin Dobson. In its prime it is 
said to have played such tunes as “‘ Go to the Devil,” “ Spanish 
Waltz,” and ‘“ Lady Campbell’s Hornpipe,” but at the present 
time it appears even beyond the wheezing stage. 

A number of books from the mission library remain; among 
them two manuscript music chorals devised by Padre Arroyo 


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MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 287 


in instructing the Indian choir. He used the quaint, square notes 
in vogue in his day and resorted to the use of color to distinguish 
the various parts, some of the notes being red, others blue. 

This Padre Arroyo must have been a genial and interesting 
character. Of all the priests of San Juan, he and Padre Tapis 
are best remembered in the various stories and legends of the 
mission. He was an accomplished linguist and spent much time 
in mastering the various Indian dialects and in compiling vocabu- 
laries of these languages. He was, in his later years, much sub- 
ject to rheumatism and is said to have taken keen delight, when 
confined to his chair, in sitting upon the patio corridor and sur- 
rounding himself with his little Indian wards, to whom he 
assigned names of famous personages in history, such as Alex- 
ander, Plato, or Cicero. 

San Juan’s other beloved padre, Estévan Tapis, finally became 
Padre-presidente of the mission system, but he is buried at San 
Juan, where he died in 1825. He rests beneath the floor of the 
sanctuary just inside the altar-rail upon the west side of the 
church, where a marble slab, let into the floor, carries a legend in 
Latin which indicates that this venerable padre, a Franciscan for 
forty-eight years, had been in America forty years and in Califor- 
nia thirty-five years. He lived a long and useful life in the service 
of his church and died one of the best beloved of the missionaries 
who labored in California. 

Time has not been kind to San Juan Bautista. The church, 
badly ruined by the attacks of the elements, was seriously dam- 
aged by the earthquake of 1906, so that many parts of the struc- 
ture stand open to the weather and in great danger, especially 
during the rainy season. Chapel is held at the present time in a 
portion of the mission-house because of the ruined condition of 
the church. It seems a pity that some of the great quantity of 
Portland cement made within a short distance of the old struc- 
ture cannot be diverted from commercial channels to repair this, 
one of the most interesting and pathetic of the ruined missions. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 


five Franciscan missions: San Francisco de Asis, founded 

October 9, 1776; Santa Clara de Asis, founded January 12, 
1777; San José de Guadalupe, founded June 11, 1797; San Rafael 
Arcangel, founded December 14, 1817; and San Francisco 
Solano, founded July 4, 1823. Of the five only San Francisco, 
dedicated to the founder of the Franciscan Order, and Santa 
Clara, named for the holy woman of Assisi, are of architectural 
interest, and, indeed, of these two, only passable fragments of one 
remain—San Francisco. 


[ THE vicinity of San Francisco Bay there were at one time 


MISSION SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS (DOLORES) 


The missions of San Francisco and Santa Clara were proposed 
as early as 1770, when, on November 12, the Viceroy, Marquis 
de Croix, instructed Don Pedro Fages, Comandante of Cali- 
fornia, to explore the port of San Francisco, which had been dis- 
covered in 1769, with view to establishing a presidio and mission 
there. This port appeared to be an important one and the Viceroy 
was anxious to occupy it and thus cut off the claims of any other 
power. The Comandante, however, due to the scarcity of troops, 
was not able to comply immediately with the Viceroy’s request, 
and as a consequence the bay was not explored until March of 
1772. Even then the investigation and report were in nowise 
detailed. Therefore when Don Antonio Maria Bucaréli y Ursua 
became viceroy, he directed Captain Rivera y Moncada, who 
had succeeded Fages, to make a further exploration of the port. 

In November, 1774, Rivera, accompanied by Padre Palou 
and sixteen soldiers, started from Monterey to explore the bay 
region, but bad weather came on and further work was prevented 
that season. On August 5, 1775, however, the packet-boat San 
Carlos, under Don Juan Manuel de Ayala, who was exploring 
the coast-line, anchored in San Francisco Bay. This ship—the 
first to pass the Golden Gate—Ayala used for forty-four days in 
making surveys and the maps of San Francisco Bay that have 
come down to us. The work done by this party was excellent, the 

288 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 289 


descriptions were good, and the soundings, shown on the map, 
compare favorably with those found later by the Coast Survey. 
Thus by the end of 1775 the waters of the port were tolerably 
well defined, but, as yet, no setthement had been made north 
of Monterey. . 

Nor was it possible to make a beginning at either San Fran- 
cisco or Santa Clara before 1776, and, at this time, the matter of 
making a start at San Francisco depended upon the arrival of a 
band of colonists, who, under the direction of Captain Don Juan 
de Anza, were to enter California for the establishment of a 
Spanish garrison and town. 

They left Mexico September 29, 1775, and, arriving at Mis- 
sion San Gabriel January 1, 1776, reached Monterey by March 
10th. According to directions from the Viceroy, Captain Anza 
was to deliver the party to Rivera at Monterey and then proceed 
to make a survey of the port and river of San Francisco before 
returning to his post at Tubac (Arizona). Shortly after arriving 
at Monterey, however, Captain Anza was taken ill and was not 
able to make his exploration until March 23rd, at which time he 
set out for the bay region. He remained in that vicinity for two 
weeks, returning to Monterey on April 8th. During this time, he 
located the site of the future presidio and mission, giving full 
directions as to their location. ‘The former was to be located at 
the entrance of the port, the latter in a quiet valley where he 
discovered a pretty little rivulet which he named Arroyo de los 
Dolores,’ since they came upon it upon the Friday of Sorrows 
(the Friday before Palm Sunday). Here he found fertile land 
for agricultural purposes, fuel, water, and stone and timber for 
building. Having attended to these directions of the Viceroy, 
Anza made a hurried exploration of the eastern shores of the bay 
and immediate back country and returned to the capital to make 
ready for his return to Tubac. 

When Anza returned from San Francisco, Rivera was absent 
at San Diego, but Anza’s maps, showing the location of the mis- 
sion and presidio, were delivered to Rivera, who, in May, directed 
that the colonists should proceed to their new home. Accordingly 


*The term Dolores is frequently applied to the mission and indeed to that whole 
section of the city within the boundaries of the old mission area. 


19 


290 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the party began their journey to San Francisco on June 17th and 
arrived at the site, after a slow march, on the 27th. The packet 
San Carlos was sent to bring the provisions from Monterey, but, 
delayed by adverse winds, it did not arrive until August 18th. 
While awaiting the boat, Lieutenant Don José Moraga, who was 
in command of the party, employed his men in the cutting of 
timber for the buildings, and when the San Carlos arrived, sailors 
were sent ashore to help in the construction of the first shelters. 

Padre Palou, in speaking of the presidio and missions, says: 
“Formal possession of the presidio was taken on the 17th of 
September. . . . After having blessed, venerated and set up the 
Holy Cross, I on that day sang the first High Mass, closing the 
service with a Te Deum. The officers then performed the solemn 
act of taking possession in the name of Our Sovereign, with a 
cannonade from the vessel and shore. . . . 

“The formal possession of the mission was delayed because 
we were hoping that the order from Comandante Rivera would 
arrive, and in the meantime the Commanders of the presidio and 
the packet-boat decided to make an expedition by sea in order to 
explore the great arm of water which projects inland from the 


harbor to the north. . . . When the launch had finished the 
exploration and returned to the port, both Commanders entered 
into aconference. . . . Though no word had been received from 


Comandante Rivera authorizing the founding of the Mission 

.. they resolved to take the step themselves and make a begin- 
ning. This they did on the ninth of October. 

‘““After having blessed the site, set up the Holy Cross, and 
made a procession in honor of our Father San Francisco, ... I 
sang the first High Mass and preached, taking as the theme the 
life of our Father San Francisco, our Patron Saint. The people 
of the presidio were present, as well as those from the vessel and 
Mission, and they gave their salvos in all the services.” ? 

Thus was established the Mission of San Francisco de Asis. 
The first buildings were only temporary, built of wood and 
thatch. Father Palou gives a good description of them, but, 
since they were similar to such buildings elsewhere, they are of 
little interest to us here. 


*Palou: Op. cit.; 204-208. 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 291 


The construction of a permanent church was begun on April 
25, 1782, when the corner-stone was laid with appropriate cere- 
monies by Padre Palou. Whether this beginning refers to the 
present church it is not quite plain, due to the fact that official 
reports regarding building activities did not begin until 1794. 
We are therefore without data between the years of 1782 and 
1793. Itis the opinion of the writer that the church begun at this 
time must have been completed presently, for on July 15, 1785, 
Padre Palou laid to rest, in the church of that day, the relics of 
Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga, Comandante of the Presidio, 
who had died on the 13th. That the church in which Lieutenant 
Moraga was first buried was not the church dedicated in April, 
1791, is enforced by an entry in the Burial Register cited by 
Engelhardt in his “ Dolores or Mission San Francisco” (p. 117). 
It reads: 

‘April 8, 1791. They have transferred from the old church 
to the new one the remains of the body of the late Don José 
Joaquin Moraga, Founder and Captain and Commander of the 
neighboring presidio.” 

In 1787 Governor Fages, reporting upon the condition of the 
missions, speaks of the poor church edifices at Missions San Fran- 
cisco, Santa Barbara, and San Buenaventura. In view of this 
statement it would seem that the present church, praised by 
Vancouver and others, was probably constructed after this date. 
Indeed it may have been an enlargement or lengthening of the 
previous adobe edifice, begun in 1782. The absence of documents 
between 1782 and 1793 makes impossible the settlement of this 
question, although certain internal evidence of the fachada points 
to some such conclusion. 

When Vancouver visited the establishment in 1792 and 1793, 
he found that “‘ the houses formed a small oblong square; the side 
of the church composed one end, near which were the apartments 
allotted to the Fathers.” He found the buildings to be con- 
structed in “the manner of those of the presidio,”’ but ‘“ more 
finished, better contrived . . . larger and much more cleanly.” 
He speaks especially of the “ church which for its magnitude, 
architecture, and internal decorations did great credit to 
the constructors.” 


292 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES °" 


After December, 1794 records of building activities are fre- 
quent. Thus we learn that in that year a granary about 150’ long 
and roofed with tiles, together with nineteen new Indian houses, 
were completed. Moreover, many of the older houses, originally 
covered with thatch, were given tile roofs, as was a portion of the 
church. During this year and the next, an irrigation ditch was 
constructed to enclose a pasture and grain field, and a storehouse 
180’ long was erected. 

In 1798 the reports indicate that additions to the church made 
possible the completion of the quadrangle. The next year the 
cause of cleanliness was promoted by the construction of a bath- 
house in which “ bathtubs’ were provided. A large caldron 
for the heating of water was installed and provision made for 
bathing the sick. 

Additions to the mission structures continued into the next 
century, but, as these were mainly Indian houses, they have little 
interest for us here. By 1810 the church seems to have been com- 
pleted and decorated, for we learn from the reports of that year 
that two side-altars of carved wood, brilliantly gilded, had been 
installed. A statue of San Miguel and six large paintings, four 
in handsome gold frames, had been placed in the church and a 
set of holy-oil stocks, a reliquary, and a pyxis of silver had been 
acquired. The church, thus adorned, prompted Lieutenant 
Camille de Roguefeuil of the French Navy to say, in 1817, ‘‘ The 
church is kept in good order and handsomely decorated, the 
sacred utensils and the pictures are the work of Mexican artists 
and exceed in richness and taste what is generally seen of this 
kind in most of the towns of the second and third rank in France 
or Germany.” 

Vancouver speaks of the manufacture upon the mission looms 
of coarse blankets made from wool produced in the neighbor- 
hood, and praised the ingenuity of the Fathers in teaching the 
art. In 1797 Governor Borica ordered that mission-made 
blankets, rather than those imported from Mexico, should be used 
at the presidio. The manufacture of pottery was begun in 1796, 
apparently under the direction of Nariano Tapia, who seems 
to have been well qualified to teach the art. Thus while agricul- 
ture never flourished at San Francisco the manufactures did. 


293 


BALCONY RAIL tas Es 
Du yee 








fin aan: i if it : 





















































a FACHADA * 





MISSION SAN FRANCISCO DE ASiS 
MEASURED DRAWING OF FACHADA 


294 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


General Vallejo describes the mission as having, in 1826, a 
church, residence for the padres, granaries, warehouses for mer- 
chandise, a guard-house for the soldiers, a prison, orchard, tan- 
nery, soap factory, and cemetery. Of these structures only the 
church with the cemetery at its side remains. The photograph (p. 
293) will indicate the present condition of the church, the adobe 
walls of which are now protected by a wooden covering, the 
fachada alone remaining uncovered. 

Careful examination of the fachada reveals the fact that some 
changes have been made since its original completion. Especially 
is it to be noted that the original roof-line has been changed, and 
that the present roof appears more as a protecting canopy to the 
ancient fachada than as its logical crown. The writer presents 
herewith a restoration of the fachada as it must have looked when 
the structure was in its prime (p. 293). This restoration is based 
entirely upon internal evidence and not upon documentary proofs 
of any kind. It will be noted also that the grade has been lowered 
more than three feet and that the ancient balcony rail has been 
removed. An old tintype of 1849, although it shows the present 
form of the roof, shows the structures at the right of the church 
and the balcony that the writer has included in his drawing. It 
is apparent that the fachada weathered badly in the moist climate 
of San Francisco, so that when the rebuilding of the edifice, 
already mentioned, took place, the ungainly protecting roof that 
now mars the building was constructed. 

The old cemetery, now much overgrown, is an interesting 
place and contains some quaint stones, among them that of Don 
Luis Arguello, the first governor of Alta California under the 
Mexican régime (1823-1825). The monument of white stone is 
protected by a cast-iron fence of a type and pattern popular 
fifty years ago. In the early days of the mission the cemetery was 
the burial-place of the mission Indians and their padres. Within 
a few years, however, settlers who died were also buried here. 
There are many Mexican, Spanish, and American names, such 
names as Casey going far to prove the descent of the early Ameri- 
can settlers of San Francisco. Lovely pepper trees hang low 
over the headstones, and roses and honeysuckle run riot over the 
all-but-forgotten graves. 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA = 295 


MISSION SANTA CLARA DE ASIS 


When Captain Rivera reached Monterey from the south and 
found that the Mission of San Francisco had already been 
founded, he lost no time in making preparations for carrying out 
the second of the foundations directed by the Viceroy. His action 
was undoubtedly hastened by a letter, received in September, in 
which the Viceroy clearly indicated that he believed the founda- 
tion already accomplished. Rivera took with him Padre Tomas 
de la Pena, and by the latter part of November had found a site 
for the new mission about three leagues from the southern end 
of San Francisco Bay. The land was well watered by springs, 
which seemed adequate for irrigation purposes; there were fine 
oak trees in the vicinity, and a considerable number of Indians 
awaiting Christianization. 

On November 30th Rivera returned to Monterey to bring up 
the troops, Father Murguia, and the equipment, which had been 
stored at San Carlos awaiting the foundation. Reaching the site, 
a cross was constructed, raised, and blessed, and, after a shelter 
of boughs had been made ready, Padre Pena said the first Mass 
on January 12, 1777. 

Speaking of the site, Padre Palou says: “‘ This mission, we 
may say, occupies the best site of any of the acquired territory. 
. . . It has splendid lands for planting and harvests fine crops 
of wheat and corn as well as all sorts of vegetables. . . . Besides 
an abundance of water in the river, there are several springs 
which fill the ditches made to carry the water to the fields 
for irrigation.” * 

Indeed the first site proved unsatisfactory, due to this abun- 
dance of water. In 1779 the river twice flooded the habitations 
and a move to higher ground was clearly imperative. Conse- 
quently during the years of 1780-1782, the padres moved the mis- 
sion to the second site, not far from the Southern Pacific Railway 
station of the modern city of Santa Clara, laying there the corner- 
stone of the new church on November 19, 1781. This structure, 
three years in building, was complete and dedicated on May 15, 
1784. This church was designed by Padre Murguia and is said 
to have been the finest structure in California up to this time. 

eraton: Op. crt.: 213. 


296 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


The architect died four days before the consecration of his edi- 
fice and was buried in the church by Padre Palou, who had been 
summoned from San Francisco. Padre Serra, Governor Fages, 
and Lieutenant Moraga attended the dedication, which was some- 
what saddened by the passing of Padre Murguia, the guiding 
spirit of the establishment. 

In the fall of 1777 the pueblo of San José de Guadalupe * 
(now the thriving city of San José) was founded. The padres 
protested that the pueblo was too near the mission, and the 
encroachments of the settlers upon mission lands formed the basis 
of many a bitter argument. These difficulties were not finally 
settled until, in 1801, the boundaries were surveyed, marked, and 
agreed upon. The mission and the pueblo, three miles away, were 
connected by a broad alameda or tree-lined promenade. This 
ancient street 1s still the principal drive between the modern cities. 

The mission prospered at the second site, and, in 1790, Santa 
Clara was third in Indian population. In 1795, due to this 
growth, it was necessary to enlarge the church, which was length- 
ened twenty-four feet, the roof, at the same time, being covered 
with tiles. Between 1793 and 1795 twenty-three Indian houses 
of adobe were added, and, by 1798, all the mission structures were 
roofed with tiles. In 1795 an irrigation ditch, half a league long, 
nine feet wide, and five feet deep, was completed. On August 12, 
1802, a grand high altar, imported for the church from Mexico, 
was set in place and consecrated. 

The earthquake of 1812 wrought great havoc at Santa Clara, 
and this and structural defects finally compelled the reconstruc- 
tion of the church and other buildings. The present church, only 
the sanctuary of which remains, was begun in 1817-1818 and 
dedicated in 1822. Our view, taken from an old painting made in 
1849, will give an idea of how this structure must have appeared 
before secularization. This third group of buildings formed the 
nucleus from which have arisen the structures of the present-day 
University of Santa Clara. Padre Real was the last of the Fran- 
ciscan fathers. He was authorized, in 1846, to sell the mission 
lands in order to support himself and the church and to pay off 


* Not to be confused with the mission of the same name. 


297 


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ALU wut 


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MISSION SAN JOSE DE GUADALUPE 


298 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the debts which had accumulated during the days of mismanage- 
ment that resulted from the secularization. 

Father Real was in charge of the church, then only a parish 
chapel, when Bishop Alemany arrived in 1850 to take charge of 
the Diocese of San Francisco. The Bishop, desiring to save the 
remnants of the mission and also to establish a college, invited 
. the Society of Jesus to Santa Clara. The invitation was accepted, 
and on March 19, 1851, Father John Nobili, S. J., arrived at the 
mission to begin his work. He adapted the old adobe buildings 
to the requirements of the school, and, in 1855, a charter was 
granted giving the institution the status of a university. The 
school was known, however, as Santa Clara College until rg11, 
when the name was changed to the University of Santa Clara. 

The earthquakes of 1856-1858 so thoroughly ruined the 
church, which was used as a chapel of the college, that it became 
necessary by 1885 to almost completely remove it. Scarcely any- 
thing of the old nave remains, although portions of the sanctuary 
are still in place. Some portions of the ancient cloisters remain, 
however, and here and there are to be seen remnants of the old 
mission vineyards and olive orchards. In the church the old 
pulpit is still in use, while in the museum many relics of mission 
days, such as sanctuary chairs, candlesticks, paintings, an old 
choral, vestments, altars, crucifixes, and altar-card cases, are to 
be seen. It seems particularly fitting that this old school of the 
padres should be perpetuated by this modern university, which 
numbers among its courses one in architecture. 


MISSION OF SAN JOSE DE GUADALUPE 


Fifteen miles north of Mission Santa Clara and almost oppo- 
site the southern extremity of San Francisco Bay stands the rem- 
nants of the Mission of San José de Guadalupe. This mission, 
together with four others, was authorized by the Viceroy in order 
that certain gaps in the mission chain of that day (1797) might be 
filled. Governor Borica was convinced that if the missions 
might be increased in number, and thereby placed closer together, 
the matter of defence would not be so acute, nor so expensive, as it 
was then proving. Therefore he set about to get the sanction of 
the Viceroy to a program calling for the establishment of five new 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA = 299 


missions. This the Viceroy agreed to, with the stipulation that no 
more soldiers should be required. This agreed to by the Gov- 
ernor, the Viceroy sent word to the guardian of San Fernando 
College that establishment should proceed and that $1000 per 
mission would be provided as foundation expenses. The guardian 
in turn recruited ten padres to send to California to make these 
foundations, and on June 11, 1797, San José, named in honor of 
the spouse of the Virgin, was established, Padre-presidente 
Lasuén performing the rites and placing in charge the first 
ministers, Isidoro Barcenilla and Agustin Merino. At the ter- 
mination of the foundation ceremonies, the party returned to Mis- 
sion Santa Clara, but, within the next week, the guard and 
laborers were sent to begin the construction of the buildings. The 
temporary structures were soon ready, and before the end of 
that year some thirty converts had been made. 

Langsdorff, who visited the mission in April, 1806, had this 
to say of the mission and its resources: 


“The situation of the Mission is admirably chosen, and, according to the 
universal opinion, this Mission will in a few years be the richest and best in 
California. The only disadvantage is, that there are no large trees very near. 
. . . To compensate this disadvantage, there are in the neighborhood of the 
Mission chalk-hills and excellent brick earth, so that most of their buildings are 
oLbrick:...>. 

“Although it is only eight years since they were begun, the buildings are 
already of very considerable extent; the quantity of corn in the granaries far 
exceeded my expectations. . . . The kitchen-garden is well laid out, and kept 
in very good order; the soil is everywhere rich and fertile, and yields ample 
returns. The fruit-trees are still very young, but their produce is as good as 
could be expected. A small rivulet runs through the garden, which preserves 
a constant moisture. Some vineyards have been planted within a few years, 
which yield excellent wine, sweet and resembling Malaga.” 


Three years after Langsdorff’s visit the new church of chalk- 
stone, to replace the older wooden structure, was completed. This 
church remained for many years after secularization, but an 
earthquake of 1868 completed the ruination that had begun with 
the decay attending the period of secularization. A modern 
parish church occupies the site of the old church and only a por- 
tion of the mission-house remains. The church was dedicated 
April 23, 1809, by Padre Arroyo de la Cuesta, its designer, before 
a large gathering from the neighboring pueblo of Santa Clara, 


300 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


visiting padres, Indians, and soldiers. The cemetery beside it 
was dedicated three months later. 

Padre Narciso Duran, for a long time Padre-presidente, was 
for twenty-seven years padre-in-charge at San José, and under 
his direction the mission reached, in 1824, its maximum popula- 
tion of 1806. The Padre at this time reported nearly 7000 cattle, 
850 horses, and 12,000 sheep upon the mission lands—truly a 
great landed estate. The mission continued prosperous up to the 
time of secularization, at which Jesus Vallejo, commissioner of 
secularization, and Padre Gonzalez Rubio returned an inventory 
totalling over $155,000 with all debts paid. 

Back of the remnants of the old mission-house two avenues, 
flanked by olive trees and crossing at right angles, mark part of 
the rich garden and orchard land of the padres, which to this day 
is kept in good condition by the Dominican Sisters who conduct 
the orphanage near by. The old olive trees, now gnarled and 
twisted, still bear plentifully, supplying oil and pickled fruit for 
the table. The old mission vineyard remained until about twenty- 
five years ago, when, the vines becoming infected by some disease 
unknown in the mission days, were removed and not replaced. 
The wine of San José was famous in mission days and long after 
the days of secularization was used for sacramental purposes. 

Several relics used in the old church are preserved in the 
modern, among them the old hammered-copper baptismal font, 
about three feet in diameter, which retains its surmounting cross 
of wrought iron. Two of the old bells hang in the new church and 
bear the simple inscriptions: 

“S$, §. JOSE, ANO DE 1826” 
and 
“S. §. JOSEPH 1815, AVE MARIA PURISIMA.” 


ASISTENCIA OF SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL 
The mission chain, originally conceived as extending from 
San Diego to Monterey, was, as we have seen, extended to San 
Francisco in 1776, but it was not until well after the opening of 
the nineteenth century that the establishments made their way 
beyond the bay. The first of the two establishments built north 
of the bay was San Rafael, Arcangel, which was begun as an asis- 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 301 


tencia for Mission San Francisco de Asis. The neophytes who 
became ill at San Francisco were transferred across the bay to 
the sheltered nook on the east side of the northern peninsula. 
This situation, not open, as was San Francisco, to the chill, damp, 
and sweeping winds from the ocean, proved a satisfactory one. 
Pierewone December 14,1517, Padre Sarria, in the presence of 
Padres Abella, Gil y Taboada, and Duran, established the little 
settlement that was for seventeen years to serve as a mission-house 
and “health-resort”’ for plague-ridden San Francisco. Padre 
Gil was placed in charge. 

The buildings of San Rafael have long since completely dis- 
appeared, but the old drawing, herewith reproduced (p. 304), 
will give some notion of the appearance of the buildings as they 
looked about 1818, when the structure comprising the church and 
mission-house was erected. As will be noted, the buildings were 
simple. The church was similar in character to the mission-house, 
the fachada of which was flanked by a simple portico with 
squared wooden posts, while the bells of the towerless church 
were suspended from a wooden frame. The severely plain 
fachada was pierced by a single portal, above which was a star- 
shaped window, while at the left of the church was a small shed- 
like addition which served as a baptistry. These structures of 
adobe began soon to decay, but, as late as 1846, they were in 
condition to house the troops under General John C. Frémont, 
who occupied them for a week. 

The population of San Rafael seems to have reached about 
1150 by the year 1828 in spite of the fact that nearly 100 of the 
San Rafaelites were sent to San Francisco Solano to live when it 
was founded in 1823. In 1834 Ignacio Martinez took charge 
under the secularization order and returned an inventory show- 
ing total assets of $18,474, with debts of $3488. Among these 
assets are noted property in the way of boats, church ornaments, 
and mission library, in addition to the usual buildings, live stock, 
orchards, tools, and implements. 

Upon secularization San Rafael became a parish of the first 
class. In 1845, when Pico’s order that the Indians return to the 
lands of San Rafael was disregarded, the mission farms were 
offered for sale and notice published. They were sold the next 


302 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


year to Antonio Sunol and A. M. Pico for $8000, but the pur- 
chasers did not gain possession and their title was later invali- 
dated. The present town of San Rafael is the county-seat of Marin 
County and a pretty little city. Many San Francisco business 
people make their home here and daily cross the Bay in going to 
and from business. 


MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 


The second of the establishments “ across the bay” and the 
twenty-first in the California chain was San Francisco Solano, 
which, established July 4, 1823, was situated in the Sonoma 
Valley, forty-three miles north of San Francisco. In 1822 a 
conference between Padre José Altamira and Governor Argtello 
resulted in the plan to transfer San Francisco de Asis, with its 
asistencia San Rafael, to a situation north of San Pablo Bay. Of 
course no provincial governor or missionary priest had the right 
either to establish a new mission or to suppress an old one. Not- 
withstanding this fact, Padre Altamira and some politicians, 
accompanied by nineteen soldiers, selected a site in the Sonoma 
Valley and on July 4, 1823, formally established the mission, 
illegally, be it noted. The Padre-presidente, Father Sarria, right- 
eously indignant, protested both the foundation and proposed 
suppressions. The final result of a great deal of talk was the 
decision to give San Francisco Solano the status of a full-fledged 
and independent mission and continue the other two. Padre 
Altamira was the first minister. 

The first church at Solano was built of timbers but was used 
only until a larger adobe structure, with tiled roof and corridor, 
was completed toward the end of 1824. This was the church 
which, in ruined condition, persists to our day. The same year a 
granary and houses for the padres and escolta were built and 
within the next year all the other necessary structures were pro- 
vided and a large number of fruit-trees and vines were already 
thriving. Within seven years the mission herd and flocks are said 
to have contained 8000 head, while the annual crops amounted to 
nearly 2000 bushels. 

San Francisco Solano had a direct connection with the politi- 
cal situation, especially with the question of Russian encroach- 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 303 


ment north of San Francisco Bay. With the secularization order 
of 1834, the pueblo of Sonoma, the forerunner of the modern city, 
was established. This was to afford homes for a party of colonists 
brought from Mexico at the time by Hijar and Padrés. In order 
to protect these colonists, overawe the Russians, and check Ameri- 
can immigration by way of the north, the soldiers from Presidio 
San Francisco were transferred to Sonoma at the same time. 
Thus our mission became a pueblo and the eventual centre of the 
Bear Flag Republic. 

The church and mission-house, as they appeared before the 
addition of the wooden tower, are shown in our painting (p. 304). 
The mission bears some resemblance to San Rafael. It has the 
same simple church, the same low-lying mission-house at right 
angles to the church, and a similar porch in front of the mission- 
house supported upon square wooden posts. Instead of a stellar 
choir window, it had originally a square-headed light and a 
rectangular door. Both of these features, as well as the side 
windows, were eventually modified in favor of the circular- 
headed openings which the building still retains. In 1835, it is 
said, General Vallejo, a prominent resident of the district, had 
constructed the ugly belfry, but this feature, in its present state, 
appears to the writer as of a date far more recent than 1835. 

The church is not large, being about thirty-six feet long and 
sixteen feet wide. A vestibule some fifteen feet square precedes 
the nave proper, and from this, steps lead to the choir-loft. The 
fachada of the church, some six feet thick, is of adobe faced with 
burned brick; the lateral walls are of plain adobe. The church 
has been badly handled. In 1880 the Catholic Church of Cali- 
fornia sold the mission structures and grounds to a Mr. Schocken 
for $3000. This money was used to build the modern parish 
church. The mission was used for service until the completion 
of the new church, after which time, for a period of about twenty- 
five years, it served its owner as a storehouse for hay. In 1903 
William Randolph Hearst purchased the old landmark for 
$5000 and presented it to the State of California with the inten- 
tion that it would be preserved as an historic landmark. It is 
still in the possession of the State. 

The mission-house, nearly a hundred feet long, is not so well 


304, 





ASISTENCIA SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL. FROM AN OLD PAINTING 





MISSION SAN FRANCISCO DE SOLANO. FROM AN OLD PAINTING 


MISSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 305 


preserved as the church, which, serving some practical purpose, 
has been kept in a passable state of repair. The modern shingle 
roof of the church has withstood the storms, while the dilapidated 
tile roof of the mission-house has long ago fallen in. The mission- 
house, divided by a wall just under the ridge of the roof, afforded 
two rows of rooms, each row of which faced the porches flanking 
the structure front and back. The ceiling beams of this building 
indicate that the attic was originally used, probably, as a dormi- 
tory for the Indian youth, as was the case in one or two other 
missions. The roofs, constructed of rough unhewn rafters, cov- 
ered with crosspieces and tiles, continued down to form the 
porches, front and rear. At the front, suspended from a rack, 
originally hung the lone bell of San Francisco Solano, long since 
silenced. Thus we end the story of the last of that cordon of 
ecclesiastical establishments that extended from the Mexican 
border up the coast of California for a distance of seven hundred 
miles—a wonderful monument to the religious zeal, missionary 
spirit, and practical ingenuity of these sons of Saint Francis! 





San Francisco Bay Area 


20 


PART III 
THE HISTORIC HOUSES 


CHAPTER XXVI 


THE ESTUDILLO HOUSE AT OLD TOWN, SAN DIEGO 


F THE missions and their architectural expressions we 
() have had considerable to say. The mission was, of course, 

the most important of our Hispanic types. That there 
was, however, another series of structures, less pretentious, but 
just as interesting, must not be forgotten. The next few chapters 
will have to do with these—the interesting domestic types of 
Spanish California—the casa de campo and the casa de pueblo. 
The casa de campo was the farm-house upon the great estate, the 
casa de pueblo the town dwelling, of which there are many still 
to be seen at San Diego, San Gabriel, Santa Barbara, or 
Los Angeles. 

In the early days of California each ranchero (farmer) or 
poblador (town-dweller) was his own architect and builder, and, 
like the mission fathers, he favored the time-honored and easily 
acquired sun-dried brick as a structural material. Little wood 
was used except for window and door frames, doors, and roofing 
timbers. The timber-framed roof was usually covered with 
burned tiles, but roofs of tule thatch were used upon occasion. 
The rooms of the country houses, as well as those of the more pre- 
tentious of the town houses, usually enclosed three sides of a 
court left open upon the fourth. The court often had a fountain 
at its centre and was planted with trees and flowers. There were, 
in addition to the family apartments, rooms for the servants, a 
room for implements, a room for cheese and milk, and another 
for hides and tallow. These, with the guest-room and a small 
family chapel, made up the architectural ensemble. 

The rooms opened directly upon a corridor running around 
the court. These corridors were similar to those at the missions 
except that there were no arches; wooden posts or, in some cases, 
brick piers being employed to support the protecting roof of 
tiles. Often a porch, similar in construction, crossed the front 
of the house. In general the dwellings were far simpler than the 
mission structures and unadorned. The houses were plastered 
inside and out and whitewashed. Windows were barred, as in 
Spain and Mexico, with either iron or wooden grilles. Often the 


309 


310 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


windows were small and unglazed and the walls thick, all of these 
conditions operating to make the rooms dark and cheerless. Fre- 
quently there was no heat in the house proper, the only fireplace 
being in the cocina (kitchen), where the meals were prepared. 
This was due partly to the favoring climate and partly to what 
Bancroft’ calls the Spaniards’ “ superstitious aversion to fires 
in dwellings.” On the whole the habitations must have been cold 
and cheerless during the short rainy season, but, most likely, very 
pleasant during the greater part of the year. 

Such a house as we have described was the Estudillo Home- 
stead, situated in Old San Diego and not more than twenty min- 
utes by electric car from the heart of the modern city. ‘“ Old 
Town,” the birthplace of California, is not the site of the present 
city. Itisasleepy little Spanish hamlet situated north and west 
of the modern San Diego on a low-lying neck of land between 
Mission Bay and San Diego Bay. Here the first mission was 
established ; here was situated the first presidio, the first pueblo, 
and, until the founding of the present San Diego in 1868, here 
was the centre of the political, military, and civil life of the south- 
ern end of California. 

Casa Estudillo was built in 1825 by Don José Antonio 
Estudillo, a pure Castilian, whose family figured largely in Cali- 
fornian history during the mission period. José Antonio’s father 
was José Maria Estudillo, at one time comandante of the Presidio 
of Monterey, and José Antonio himself took an important part 
in the political and commercial affairs of his day. In 1840 
Inspector Hartnell removed Pio Pico as administrator of the 
secularized Mission San Luis Rey and appointed in his stead 
Don Antonio. The Picos in their brief period of administration 
had practically ruined the mission properties, diverting to their 
private use much of the wealth that, by law, belonged to the 
Indians. But so far as we know Don Antonio labored consist- 
ently to withstand the efforts of the Pico family to get hold of the 
lands again and cheat the rightful Indian owners. 

The Estudillo House remained in possession of the family for 
three generations, or until 1887, when Salvador Estudillo aban- 
doned it upon removing to Los Angeles. The Estudillo family 


* Bancroft: California Pastoral; 140. 


B11 





ESTUDILLO HOUSE, “OLD TOWN”, SAN DIEGO, RAMONA’S MARRIAGE PLACE. WESTERN FACHADA 





ESTUDILLO HOUSE. CORNER DETAIL 


212 





ESTUDILLO HOUSE, OVEN AND KITCHEN 


ESTUDILLO HOUSE AT OLD TOWN, SAN DIEGO 313 


was known for its culture and its genuine Spanish hospitality, and, 
in the great days of the first half of the last century, the house was 
a favorite gathering-place for the best society of Southern Cali- 
fornia and the scene of many a splendid function. When Don 
Salvador removed to Los Angeles he left the place in charge of 
_a faithless caretaker who, betraying the trust placed in him, sold 
off to treasure-seekers anything that they desired, be it the candle- 
sticks or the great brass door-keys. A few years of such treatment 
reduced the place to the pitiful ruin that it was in 1910, when it 
was restored by Mr. John D. Spreckels, a public-spirited gentle- 
man, who has always taken a wide interest in the historic 
and beautiful. 

The house stands facing the ancient Plaza of ‘ Old Town,” 
where General Fremont first officially planted the American 
flag upon Southern California soil in 1846, but where the same 
standard had been unofficially raised in the days of the Mexican 
secession of 1829. The fact that Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson made 
the little family chapel of the Estudillo’s the marriage-place of 
Ramona, in her famous Indian novel of the same name, has given 
the house the romantic name of ‘‘ Ramona’s Marriage-place,” and 
it is better known by that name than by its more authentic title. 

The structure, consisting of twelve rooms and the chapel, is 
built around three sides of a patio or courtyard, some seventy-five 
feet wide by one hundred and fifty feet long, and faces north with 
its southern exposure towards the court. The entire structure 1s 
of adobe with walls from two to four feet in thickness. It 1s 
roofed with fine old Spanish tiles carried upon heavy timbers, the 
rough ends of which project through the walls, punctuating the 
eaves line with interesting spots of light, and casting, in the 
almost perpetual sunshine, most interesting shadows. 

The roof is of the “shed” type, sloping toward the streets 
on all three fachadas and presenting, upon the patio side, a sheer 
wall against which the roofs of the corridors lean in the same 
picturesque manner so often noted in Italy and Spain. The cor- 
ridor roofs produce a pretty contrast of color where they come 
against the cream plaster of the walls. Surely in such examples 
as this there should be much inspiration for modern domestic 
work. The timbers supporting the roof are bound together with 


314 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


rawhide thongs, and nowhere are any nails visible. Many of 
the old doors, windows, and shutters remain in place and serve to 
acquaint one with the type of woodwork used in Spanish-Cali- 
fornian domestic architecture. 

If, in the missions, life centred about the interior courts, the 
same was true in the home. Usually the exterior walls are more 
or less plain and severe, while the real beauties of architectural 
detail and planting are reserved for the inner courts. The patio 
of Casa Estudillo is one of the most interesting spots in all Cali- 
fornia and presents today as fine a picture as it ever made during 
the days of the Dons. At the centre of the intersecting paths is a 
circular pool with its rock fountain, pampas grass, and multi- 
colored lilies, while near it stands a gazing-globe, modern to be 
sure, but quite in keeping with the general spirit of the garden. 

The patio is set with rare trees and beautiful plants. Flower- 
ing shrubs, climbing vines, roses, and dozens of old-fashioned 
flowers vie with one another, summer and winter, to present a 
lively panorama of color. At its extreme southern end the garden 
is bordered by beautiful yellow acacia, olive, and pepper trees, 
while scattered about between the shady, sanded paths, the botan- 
ically inclined will discover the orange, lemon, loquat, fig, mul- 
berry, guava, zapata, and Catalina cherry. These old gardens of 
New Spain were useful as well as beautiful. Near the southern 
wall is to be seen a good example of an old Spanish carreta or 
ox-cart (p. 70), which for a long time was the only vehicle in 
all California. 

At the extreme southern end of the eastern wing of the house 
is the old cocina with its fireplace for cooking, its iron and copper 
utensils, its old armario (cupboard), an old chair of curious 
design, and other things necessary to the culinary processes of 
the Spanish household. Just outside the door, near the arbor, 
is an interesting old Spanish horno (oven). It stands upon a 
rectangular base and is of the characteristic ‘“‘ bee-hive ” type so 
prevalent in all Spanish-speaking lands. This oven was fired 
with wood, and it was necessary to draw the fire when the correct 
temperature for baking or roasting had been attained. The door 
of the oven is upon the side next the kitchen, the vent upon the 
opposite side. 








ESTUDILLO HOUSE. INTERIOR OF KITCHEN 


316 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


After the secularization of the missions by the Mexican 
Government many of the treasures of San Diego Mission, some 
four miles up the valley, were brought to the chapel of Casa 
Estudillo for safe-keeping. Seven of the bells from the mission 
were hung upon wooden beams in the patio, and, for many years 
thereafter, the little family chapel served as the only place of 
worship in San Diego, the parish priest, Father Ubach (the 
Father Gasparo of Mrs. Jackson’s story), occupying an apart- 
ment near by. It was during this period that Mrs. Jackson visited 
San Diego to gather data for her book “ Ramona,” and, conse- 
quently, she makes the little chapel the “ marriage-place ” of her 
heroine. Thus the house is today better known as the setting of 
an episode in this wonderful story than it is as a casa de pueblo 
of the pastoral age of Alta California. 

At the present time, the structure houses an interesting collec- 
tion of historic relics, most of them relating to the early history 
of San Diego and California. The old comedor (dining-room), 
with its quaint fireplace, tile floor, and whitewashed walls, now 
serves as a writing-room for those who visit the museum. The 
room next, used as an art-gallery, has a number of old paintings, 
among them an interesting ‘“‘ Holy Trinity,” in which the figures 
have triangular instead of circular halos. The Estudillo Room 
contains an old Spanish chest, the treasure-chest of Don Antonio. 
Here also are to be seen the first piano brought to California by 
way of Cape Horn in 1851, the first sewing-machine brought to 
the State, a chair used by the authoress of “‘ Ramona,” an interest- 
ing collection of Indian metates, and a number of drawings and 
paintings of the old missions. 

In the ‘‘ Horton” Room, so called for the founder of the 
modern San Diego, is preserved the furniture of ‘ Father 
Horton,” the old registers of the hotel which he conducted, and 
other relics. Among the notable features of the collection is a 
curious “‘ Black Madonna ” from Monserrat, Spain, which seems 
to have been carved from the trunk of an old tree. A “ Saint 
Francis of Assisi,” by Pasqual Pérez, purporting to be over three 
hundred years old, and a view of Camulos Rancho, are among 
the more interesting of the paintings. A shrine from the old Mis- 
sion of San Miguel near Loreto, Baja California, is perhaps as 


mo lUDILLO HOUSE AT OLD TOWN, SAN DIEGO 317 


interesting an object as the whole collection contains. It is said 
that the shrine was made in Spain in 1125 and brought to Mexico 
in 1745. Upon the doors are interesting paintings of Saints Peter 
and John the Baptist, and inside are statues depicting San Miguel 
conquering the Devil, a Pieta, and a ‘“‘ Madonna of the Rose.” 

When the restoration of 1910 was projected it was necessary 
to replace many parts of the original tile floors. A source of 
supply for these tiles was found at the site of the old dam of 
Mission San Diego. Thus we have preserved for us in the pave- 
ments of this old house, fragments of one of the earliest irrigation 
works of California. 

Taken as a whole this old casa is an interesting and beautiful 
reminder of the pleasant and care-free life of the Dons of the 
Hispanic period. It has excellent domestic quality, and present- 
day architects of the Southwest would do well to study this and 
other domestic types as precedent for residential work. Many 
architects of so-called “ mission ”’ houses have apparently over- 
looked the value of these adobe houses of the Southwest, and 
desiring to do “ architecture,’ have produced designs for resi- 
dences that look more like churches than like human habitations. 
Thus they have missed the whole lesson that these honest, unas- 
suming, and craftsmanlike structures teach. 





Old Spanish Oven, Casa Estudillo, San Diego 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


THE ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 


MONG the several pueblos of the Hispanic period of Cali- 
AN tons, one stands out distinctly from the rest as a centre 
of whatever there was of culture and refinement in the 
province. Dana in his “Two Years Before the Mast,” and 
Alfred Robinson in his “ Life in California,” give frequent 
glimpses of life and society at Santa Barbara. Both of these 
writers, to be sure, treat of the period just after the success of 
Mexican independence, but there is no reason to suspect that life 
was far different then from what it had been under Spanish 
dominion. Asa matter of fact, Santa Barbara, as well as most of 
the California pueblos, may be said to have had her most flourish- 
ing period after the days of Spanish rule. The Spanish period was 
the era of the mission, the Mexican period the era of the pueblo. 
The foundation of Santa Barbara dates from April 21, 1782, 
when Captain José Francisco Ortega, accompanied by Governor 
Felipe de Neve and Padre Junipero Serra, marched thither from 
the newly founded Mission of San Buenaventura, selected the 
site, and formally established the Presidio of Santa Barbara. The 
venerable Padre had supposed that, as soon as the presidio was 
established and temporarily housed, the foundation of the mis- 
sion would immediately follow. The Governor had different 
views, however, and felt that the position of the Spaniards 
amongst unknown tribes would be insecure until the fortifica- 
tions were reasonably complete. With great disappointment the 
old Padre left Santa Barbara for his home at San Carlos and died 
there, in 1784, two years after the establishment of the presidio 
and fully two years before the founding of the mission. 

It is with the presidio, however, and particularly with one 
of its commanders, Captain José de la Guerra y Noriega, that 
we are here concerned. The old presidio was situated on the four 
modern city squares that corner at the intersection of Santa 
Barbara and Canon Perdido (Lost Cannon) Streets. In plan 
the structure was simple and consisted of an open patio about 
320 feet square, surrounded on its four sides by the quarters 
of the officers and soldiers, and these, in turn, enclosed by 

318 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 319 


corrals and a high wall. The corners of the presidio pointed the 
cardinal directions. 

We must not assume that the structures were laid out with 
anything like mathematical precision. As a matter of fact there 
was neither architect nor engineer with the party, so that our 
diagrammatic plan (p. 65) does not record the inaccuracies 
that must have crept into its construction. However, as a practi- 
cal outpost it was admirably adapted to the conditions, and 
presented, when finished, an open space defended by three bar- 
riers—the outer high wall and the two walls of the enclos- 
ing houses. 

The buildings were built of adobe, laid up in mortar, and, 
resting upon solid stone foundations, were plastered inside and 
out and whitewashed. The roofs were of tile. The main gate, 
near the middle of the southeastern side, was 20 feet wide and 
always carefully guarded. The guard-house was at the left as 
one entered, the storehouses at the right. Almost opposite the 
gate was the church and next to it the house of the comandante. 
Adjacent to his house was that of the alferez (ensign) and on 
the other side of the capilla, the house of the chaplain. Thus the 
officers’ houses and the church occupied one side, the soldiers’ 
quarters the flanking sides. The outer wall, also of adobe and 
upon a stone foundation, was seven feet thick and twelve feet high. 
At the eastern corner was a bastion, in which was mounted a 
small iron cannon. Two other iron pieces and a brass six-pounder 
completed the artillery. A water-supply was available from the 
springs near by, but in case of siege, a well in one corner of the 
patio was used. 

Vancouver, the English traveller, leaves us a pretty picture 
of the presidio. (See Chapter VI.) His praise, coupled with the 
reports of Engineer Cordoba upon Presidio San Diego and other 
forts, would go far toward proving that Santa Barbara was the 
best of the California strongholds. That this is in no sense high 
praise will be agreed when the material of which it was built— 
primitive adobe—is considered. 

The superiority of Santa Barbara was doubtless due to the 
quality of her commanding officers. The first comandante was 
Captain José Francisco Ortega, a man of “indomitable energy 


320 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


and untiring in his efforts to establish a presidio in which no 
essential should be wanting.” He built a large stone reservoir 
fed by the waters of Mission Creek, for irrigation purposes, estab- 
lished orchards near the presidio, and encouraged farming on 
a large scale. He was succeeded by Captain Felipe Goycoechea, 
who remained in command until 1802. It was he who completed 
the presidial structures and was in command when Vancouver 
visited Santa Barbara. We may infer from his long term that 
he was an efficient and courteous ofhcer. He subsequently became 
governor of Baja California. 

Goycoechea was succeeded by Lieutenant Raimundo Carrillo, 
who was in charge for five years. It was during his period of 
office that the earthquakes of 1806 damaged the mission and the 
presidio chapel. To his military labors were added the burden 
of making the needed repairs, but he is said to have left a record 
of intelligent efficiency. 

Carrillo was succeeded by Captain José Dario Argtello, who 
was comandante for nine years. He was an enterprising and 
public-spirited citizen, and one of his important acts was the 
establishment of public schools. He, doubtless, would have 
accomplished much more during his administration had it not 
been for the disastrous earthquakes of 1812, which destroyed 
almost completely the presidio as well as most of the mission 
structures in the district under his jurisdiction. 

Captain Argtiello was a Mexican by birth. He arose rapidly, 
due to his intrinsic worth, and became one of the most influential 
men in California, which was his place of residence for thirty- 
four years. He served for a short time as acting governor of 
Alta California and for several years as governor of Baja Cali- 
fornia. His son, Don Luis, was the first governor of Alta Cali- 
fornia under the Mexican régime. 

Argtiello was succeeded by Captain José Antonio de la 
Guerra y Noriega, without doubt the strongest of the presidial 
commanders of Santa Barbara, and a man who would have 
reached a high position, politically, had it not been for the fact 
that he was a Spaniard by birth and consequently not trusted 
by the anti-Spanish party at Mexico City. At the time he 
assumed charge, the presidio was completely restored and in the 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 321 


best condition of any in California. Thus, with little work along 
the line of construction, he was able to concentrate upon the 
duties of his office, as well as improve his private fortune. For 
twenty-seven years he was in charge of the military district of 
Santa Barbara and wielded an influence out of all proportion to 
his military position. 

Captain de la Guerra was born in Spain, in 1779, the son of 
a union of two important Spanish families, and he always retained 
the name of his mother, Noriega, as a part of his surname. His 
boyhood tendencies pointed toward the priesthood, but his par- 
ents discouraged him in this and sent him to Mexico to enter the 
mercantile business of an uncle, Pedro Noriega, in whose employ 
he seems to have remained but a short time. In 1798 he entered 
the office of Habilitado-general (paymaster-general) Carbaca, by 
whose influence he was enrolled as a cadet in the army, and 
attached to the San Diego company. Within two years he was 
appointed alferez (ensign) of the Monterey company and took 
up residence in the north. 

Between the years of 1802 and 1806 he was habilitado (pay- 
master) at Monterey, and in 1804 he married Antonia, the 
daughter of Raimundo Carrillo, who, as we have seen, preceded 
him in command at Santa Barbara. In 1806, he was promoted 
to a lieutenancy and stationed at Santa Barbara, but between the 
years of 1806 and 1809 he was habilitado at San Diego. Begin- 
ning with the year 1808 he received large consignments of goods 
from his uncle in Mexico, and, by means of the profits result- 
ing from the advantageous sales thereof, greatly improved his 
financial condition. 

From 1815 on, he was comandante at Santa Barbara, and 
soon made a place for himself among the best citizens at that 
place. Promoted to a captaincy in 1818, he continued to wield 
an ever-increasing influence, and, although he was not able to 
hold office himself, due to the attitude of the Mexican officials 
at the capital, he was able, by virtue of the trust placed in his 
judgment, to control the activities of many of those who did hold 
office. At all times he acted as a kind of treasurer and financial 
adviser to the padres and was looked upon by the people of Santa 
Barbara as “ the patriarch to whom the people ” could “ apply 


21 


B22 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


as a matter of course to settle their controversies.” ‘“ No man in 
California,” says Bancroft, “ ever came so near, by peaceful, 
legitimate means, absolute control of his district.” 

He remained in charge of the military district until April, 
1842, at which time he retired to the direction of his business 
and the management of his estates, two ranchos of which, the San 
Julian and the National, had been granted him by Governor 
Alvarado. In his later years he lived quietly at his home, Casa de 
la Guerra at Santa Barbara, where he died in 1858, leaving a 
hundred direct descendants. 

Casa de la Guerra, the mansion which the Captain built as 
the family home, was begun about 1819 and completed in 1826. 
Like the Estudillo House, the structure surrounds three sides of 
a patio with open corridors on all three sides. The casa, like the 
buildings of the vanished presidio, stands several steps above the 
patio and not on the same level, as at Casa Estudillo. Originally 
the corridors extended the full length of the wings of the house, 
but, subsequently, the end bays were walled up to form small 
rooms. The roofs of the corridors were at one time carried upon 
brick piers twenty inches square, but, as an earthquake disturbed 
these, they were replaced by the wooden posts. The walls of the 
house are of adobe and stand upon heavy stone foundations. 
Originally they were plastered and whitewashed, but, as time 
went on, wooden siding was introduced to protect the weathering 
adobe. In recent years this siding has been removed and the walls 
re-stuccoed and tinted, so that today they present almost the 
original appearance. The roofs have been re-covered with red 
“Mission” tiles, that are far more appropriate than American 
shingles could possibly be. 

In the old days there was a garden at the rear of the casa, made 
accessible by means of a corridor running directly through the 
house upon the axis of the patio. In this garden stood the small, 
two-storied apartment of adobe shown in the older view of the 
house. The upper part of this structure served as the library of 
Captain de la Guerra. In the early days of California the only 
libraries of consequence were those at the missions, but, as time 
went on, the more cultured families imported libraries of stand- 
ard works. Much opposition was generated against the importa- 


OOV SUVAA ANOS GANOOT LI SV ‘VUVAUVA VLNVS ‘ASQOH VUUAND VI Ad 





323 





DE LA GUERRA HOUSE, SANTA BARBARA. THE PATIO FROM THE SOUTHEAST 








DE LA GUERRA HOUSE, SANTA BARBARA. THE PATIO LOOKING NORTH 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 325 


tion of any but religious books sanctioned by the Church, and in 
one or two cases we hear of otherwise respectable citizens being 
excommunicated for the reading of books forbidden by the 
Church. Vallejo, comandante of San Francisco Presidio, who 
owned, perhaps, the best private library in California, together 
with José Castro and Juan Alvarado, both of whom were later 
governors of the province, found themselves in this predicament 
in 1831. As far as our knowledge goes, Captain de la Guerra’s 
library was never molested. Bancroft has a note that the books 
were largely scientific and religious, and thus not open to the cen- 
sure of the priests. With the growing encroachment of business 
upon what was, in the old days of the pueblo, a residence section, 
the “library” has been removed and in its stead we have the 
ugly sky-line of the modern business district. 

Adjoining the passage that leads from the front corridor to 
the garden in the rear was the bodega (wine-cellar), where the 
master of the house kept the choice wines which made his 
hospitality famous. His son, Don Pablo, who succeeded to the 
possession of the old mansion, was even fonder of fine wines than 
his father, and is said to have been rather too much addicted to 
wines, brandy, and cards. The father, as master of over two 
hundred thousand acres, the producer of over $100,000 worth of 
cattle annually, and one of the most prominent men socially and 
politically in his district, was compelled to entertain lavishly 
and often. A large bodega was therefore an essential under the 
prevailing social scheme. 

The old Casa de la Guerra was the setting of many a splendid 
social event in the early history of the city. An interesting story 
is told of how once the Captain averted a serious rupture between 
the Governor and the military authorities by inviting all parties 
concerned to a great party at his house, where, when the fine food 
and good wines had done their best to make the event a pleasant 
social success, he proposed a scheme that would let all parties 
concerned out with saved faces. The story goes that hands were 
shaken all around and a rousing health was drunk to the host. 

This, then, was the joyous, hospitable life that was lived in 
these casas of California. There is a measure of that hospitality 
written into the broad overhang of the red-tiled corridors that 


326 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


flank the pleasant and inviting patio. The De la Guerra House 
was passed on to Don Pablo, himself prominent in Californian 
affairs, at one time administrator of the custom-house at Mon- 
terey, a member of the constitutional convention of ’49, and later 
a State senator for several terms and acting lieutenant-governor. 
He was United States marshal after the American occupation, 
and served a long term as district judge. His genial tempera- 
ment made the casa ever a pleasant social resort. 

From him the house passed to a daughter, and, as a result, 
is still in the hands of the De la Guerra family. There it stands 
today surrounded by the structures of the modern business dis- 
trict. The gardens are no more, and so the patio has bestowed 
upon it the care that was formerly expended upon a far larger 
area. But, in the old days, the De la Guerra gardens were 
famous. The old Plaza, an open space several hundred feet long, 
that originally occupied the block directly in front of the man- 
sion and was surrounded by less capacious casas de pueblo, has 
now been usurped by the modern city hall and fire-engine house, 
thus seriously marring an interesting area. That the casa itself is 
in excellent condition and the grounds well cared for, the photo- 
graphs will testify. 

It is not just certain when the first official grant of pueblo 
land was made at Santa Barbara. The earliest deed recorded 
dates from 1835, and was a grant to Octaviano Gutierrez of a 
parcel of land, one hundred varas square, situated between the 
presidio and the mission, to be used as a homestead. What sort 
of a habitation he built is not now plain, but it was probably of 
little consequence. 

The first residence of any pretensions built outside the presi- 
dial walls was probably the interesting Casa Arrellanes, which 
stands today at a distance of less than one hundred feet from 
where the eastern corner of the old presidio formerly stood. The 
casa was begun by a Spaniard in 1795, who built, presumably 
upon land without title, one end of the present house. At least 
two additions as large as the original house have since been made 
to meet the desires of subsequent owners. In the early days the 
structure served both as a residence and as a store for the sale 
of general merchandise and spirits. It finally came into the 


327 





ARRELLANES HOUSE, SANTA BARBARA 





CASA CARRILLO, SANTA BARBARA 





CASA CARRILLO, SANTA BARBARA. THE RESTORED PATIO 





29 EAST DE LA GUERRA STREET, SANTA BARBARA. THE PATIO 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 329 


possession of Theodoro Arrellanes, whose family and descendants 
occupied it for over two generations. Due to a public-spirited 
movement in Santa Barbara, looking toward the preservation of 
the old landmarks, the house finally passed into the use of the 
_ Associated Charities of the city, which organization makes use 
of it as headquarters for its charitable and social-service work. 

Our photograph shows the west end of the structure, with its 
heavy buttresses and bay window, the latter probably an addition 
of later years, but still very much in keeping with the spirit of 
the original work. It will be noticed that the house is a long one 
with no attempt at patio treatment, such as we have seen at Casa 
de la Guerra. A veranda, formed by a continuation of the main 
roof over the tile-paved terrace, crosses the entire fachada of the 
house, making of it a delightfully pleasant place in the warm 
days of summer and an equally efficient shelter during the winter 
rains. The porch posts of the western end are different from 
those of the eastern. It would be difficult to learn the story of 
these interesting carved wooden posts, but, that they are in perfect 
keeping with the residential character of the building and con- 
trast pleasantly with the heavy ecclesiastical arches of the mission, 
can scarcely be gainsaid. 

When the Associated Charities took over the place, certain 
openings had to be provided to permit the lighting of the sewing- 
rooms of the society. This accounts for a large window at the 
back of the house, which, of course, does not affect any but the 
rear fachada. Heavy beamed ceilings, wooden panelled walls, 
and simple but interesting fireplaces make the interior quiet and 
restful and provide admirable rooms for the organization. 

Another old “‘ adobe ” that has been purchased and renovated 
for community purposes is the old Casa Dominguez, at the corner 
of Santa Barbara and Carrillo Streets (932 Santa Barbara 
Street). This structure serves as a school of music conducted by 
the Santa Barbara Community Chorus, under the direction 
of Arthur Farwell, the famous composer of Indian melodies 
and dramas. 

One of the most attractive of all the Santa Barbara houses, 
unfortunately now destroyed, was that of Don Antonio Aguirre, 


330 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


a native of San Sebastian, Spain, and a son-in-law of José Antonio 
Estudillo, the builder of the interesting casa at San Diego. 
Aguirre, in Mexican days, was a large merchant and trader upon 
the coast and the owner of a number of ships, among them the 
Joven Guipuzcoana (Maid of Guipuzcoa), originally the Roger 
Williams of Boston, which he purchased in 1840, and by means 
of which he imported goods from Mexico and other southern 
countries for sale in California. He is said to have imported 
most of the materials with which he embellished his Santa 
Barbara house and several of the artisans to whom he entrusted 
its erection. 

After 1838 Don José made Santa Barbara his residence, and 
in 1841 had prepared la Casa de Aguirre for the coming of his 
bride. His marriage to Maria del Rosario Estudillo took place 
at San Diego early in 1842, and returning home upon his own 
ship, la Joven Guipuzcoana, he invited Garcia Diego, the newly 
appointed first bishop of California, and party to accompany him. 
Since the Bishop had decided to abandon his plan to establish his 
episcopal seat at San Diego, there was every hope that he would 
think favorably of Santa Barbara. Don José recognized the 
importance that would attach to Santa Barbara should it become 
the capital of the diocese, and sent his brig, Leonidas, in advance 
to announce the coming of the Bishop. If we can judge by Alfred 
Robinson’s description of the reception accorded the Bishop upon 
his arrival at Santa Barbara, it was a splendid event in the history 
of the pueblo. . 

Casa de Aguirre was a large, one-storied house. There was 
only one two-storied residence in Santa Barbara at the time, that 
the Alpheus B. Thompson house, built in 1835. Like the Casa 
de la Guerra, the structure was raised upon a stone podium that 
called for an approach of steps at the front. The fachada was 
relieved by a veranda, and a passage led from this through the 
front wing of the house into the patio, which was completely sur- 
rounded by the numerous rooms. The parlor is described as 
having been large and handsomely. furnished, with “ floors of 
polished hard woods and walls daintily frescoed.”” Many of the 
furnishings Don José imported from Mexico and South America. 

The patio is said to have presented a splendid appearance and 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 331 


to have been unique in Californian architecture. It was flagged 
with stone and surrounded by a corridor with wooden floors. 
Delicately carved posts supported the corridor roofs, which were 
constructed in such a manner as to leave a circular opening above 
the stone pavement. This delightful patio, with its air and shade, 
must have been a pleasant place of retreat for the family, whose 
privacy was further safeguarded by the placing of a high stone 
wall around the orchard and flower-garden adjacent. La Casa 
Aguirre was a favorite meeting-place of the best society of Santa 
Barbara, and in the great days of the pastoral period was the 
scene of many a fiesta. 

Not far from where once stood the Casa Aguirre is still to 
be seen the Joaquin Carrillo House. This delightful old structure, 
now used as the studio for a decorator and dealer in antiques, 
boasts of having been the “ birthplace of Isabel Larkin, the first 
American child born in California.” The restored patio of Casa 
Carrillo is a place of interest and beauty. 

Another fascinating group of adobes are those in East De la 
Guerra Street. The house at No. 29, now called the ‘“‘ Patio Tea- 
room,” is especially interesting in its restored condition. Our 
photographs show the street fachada and the patio which serves 
as the tea-garden. The fachada, with its tile-covered veranda 
extending over the sidewalk, its pretty dormer and white chim- 
neys, makes a fine picture, but the patio, with its red-tile pave- 
ment, its comfortable shelters, picturesque roofs, and garden wall, 
is the most delightful feature of the place. Tea and cakes are 
worth twice the price in such surroundings. 

Within Santa Barbara there are many fragments of the old 
houses of pueblo days. The Natural History Society’s Museum 
at No. 930 Anacapa Street occupies an interesting example, while 
the fragment of the old comandante’s house at the corner of Santa 
Barbara and Canon Perdidio Streets, long occupied by the 
descendants of Gumesuido Flores, the last of the comandantes, 
is pointed out as the last vestige of the old presidial structures. 
This house, now badly marred by surrounding modern buildings, 
and partly removed when Santa Barbara Street was laid out, was 
at one time a very important house and the scene of many official 
receptions. Aside from these, the more important of the old 


332 


f 2S or i 
bb eeened 


COOL BLE, 





29 EAST DE LA GUERRA STREET, SANTA BARBARA. THE PATIO FROM THE BALCONY 





GASPAR ORENA HOUSE, MONTECITO, NEAR SANTA BARBARA 


ARCHITECTURE OF SPANISH SANTA BARBARA 333 


‘adobes,” Santa Barbara has many others which have long since 
elapsed into decrepitude. 

Outside the city, at the foot of Ortega Hill, stands the Gaspar 
Orena house, an interesting old two-storied adobe with an over- 
hanging balcony. This house, of a type that was more prevalent 
at Monterey, Los Angeles, and Sonoma than at Santa Barbara, 
may be pointed to as an example of the smaller casa de campo 
(farm-house). Set in a well-grown eucalyptus grove, with its 
whitewashed walls, overhanging balcony, and the deep shadows 
that the balcony induces, this old house makes at once a fascinat- 
ing and characteristic picture. 

With a most delightful climate, set like a jewel amid glorious 
mountains, and fronting the sea, Santa Barbara is one of Amer- 
ica’s most favored spots. Her citizens, sensitive to these wonder- 
ful surroundings and mindful of a long and colorful history under 
three flags, have sought to build in somewhat the spirit of the old, 
with the result that many interesting residences and public build- 
ings in the Hispanic style have been erected. 





Mission Tower 
Santa Barbara 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


THE OLD HOUSES OF MONTEREY 


the principal commercial centre of Alta California; and if 

Santa Barbara, by virtue of her superb setting and genial 
climate, was, from the days of her founding, the favorite dwell- 
ing-place of many important Spanish families, Monterey, as 
capital of the Californias—Baja and Alta—and the seat of the 
governor and chief military officials, was, throughout the Spanish 
and Mexican régime and well into the American period, the most 
important town. 

Monterey has figured in Californian history since the days 
of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who, as early as 1542, sailed into 
the beautiful Bay of Monterey, which he called Bahia de Los 
Pinos (Bay of Pines), and gave the name of El Cabo de Los 
Pinos to that lovely promontory now known as the Point of Pines. 
The name Monterey was not attached to the place until Decem- 
ber, 1602, when Don Sebastian Viscaino, sailing under cédulas 
from King Philip III., landed upon the shores of the crescent 
bay and named the spot “ Monterey” in honor of Gaspar de 
Zuniga, Count of Monterey, Viceroy of Mexico, and patron of 
the expedition. 

Viscaino entertained ideas of returning to Monterey for the 
establishment of a colony, but his early death prevented the carry- 
ing out of this intention, and, as a result, the silence of the wilder- 
ness was not again disturbed by white men until 1769, when Don 
Gaspar de Portola, Governor of Baja California, set out to 
rediscover the place. 

But the stories of the Mission and Presidio have been told 
in former chapters, thus it is with the simpler and humbler struc- 
tures of the pueblo that this chapter would concern itself. His- 
torically speaking, there is no structure in Monterey, aside from 
San Carlos Church (la Capilla Real) (p. 268), that holds so 
prominent a place as the Old Spanish Custom-house. From the 
flag-staff of this building have floated the flags of three nations— 
the proud banner of Old Spain, the Mexican tricolor (1822- 
1846), and at the present time our own Old Glory. It was here 

334 


| SAN DIEGO was the first port of call and for many years 


THE OLD HOUSES OF MONTEREY 335 


that on July 7, 1846, Commodore Sloat unfurled the Stars and 
Stripes to the breeze, ending forever Mexican rule in California. 

The structure seems to reflect each of the periods during 
which it has been prominent. The northern, two-storied portion 
of the building was erected in 1814 by the Spaniards; the central, 
one-storied section, in 1822, by the Mexican authorities; and the 
southern end, which is a duplicate of the northern portion, after 
the American occupation of 1846. When Commodore Sloat 
occupied the town, the Custom-house became the headquarters 
of the American marines under Captain Mervine. 

In spite of the various dates of construction the building pre- 
sents a particularly symmetrical appearance and is a pleasant 
and staunch old landmark. At either end the two-storied porches, 
formed by the projections of the roofs, give the building a delight- 
fully informal and picturesque quality. This is further enhanced 
by the gnarled roof-tree, a Monterey cypress, that stands at the 
southern end. The structure is situated upon a low, but steep, 
bank only a few feet from the bay, the view of which is obscured 
in the photograph by the tile-capped stone fence in the fore- 
ground. ‘The old edifice is now the property of the State and 
is in the custodianship of the order of the Native Sons of the 
Golden West, who, with the Native Daughters, make their head- 
quarters here. 

Life at Monterey, in the old days, centred largely around the 
military and civil authorities who made Monterey their official 
home, and, so far as is known, social events at Monterey date 
from the arrival at the capital of Dona Eulalia, wife of Governor 
Pedro Fages, the fourth Spanish governor of California. Natu- 
rally the great functions were held in the residence of the Gover- 
nor at the Presidio, but unfortunately, none of the presidial 
structures except la Capilla come down to us. One of the earliest 
social functions of Monterey was the reception given by Gover- 
nor Fages and his wife in honor of the French navigator, Lapé- 
rouse, who, under orders from Louis XVI. of France, had been 
sent upon a scientific expedition to explore some of the remote 
parts of the world. The greatest events during the Spanish régime 
were the inaugural ceremonies in honor of the new governors, 
and of these, one of the most elaborate was that of Governor Sola, 


336 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the tenth and last Spanish governor, the story of which has been 
told in Chapter XXII. 

As in most of the California pueblos, dancing was the chief 
amusement, not only of the young people but of the old as well. 
Many of the dances were held at the home of the Governor or 
at the house of the Comandante of the Presidio. But after T. O. 
Larkin, the first American consul in California, came to Mon- 
terey to live, his house, as well as that of Don José Abrego, was 
the scene of many a gay party. 

At this time the aristocracy of Wonieren consisted of those 
who were, or had been, in official station, either military or civil. 
These eral were secant lhas in the Pneeee but they stead- 
fastly maintained an aristocratic attitude, priding themselves 
greatly upon their Spanish blood and speech. They usually 
sought to furnish their homes with furniture imported from 
Spain or Mexico City, but the aggressive competition of the 
Yankee trading-vessels that came to the coast made articles of 
Spanish origin difficult to get. The people prided themselves 
upon good silver, dainty queen’s-ware, and beautiful hangings. 
The kitchen and dining-room were usually detached from the 
main part of the house, and all the housework, so far as the upper 
class was concerned, was done by Indian servants, who frequently 
were good and faithful. 

As will be noted in the accompanying photographs, most of 
the houses of importance at Monterey were of two stories. They 
were of two general classes: the square, hip-roofed type, with 
‘“Jean-to ” additions of one story, like the Larkin House, and the 
“House of the Four Winds,” or long, gabled houses, with the 
gables parallel to the street, like the “‘ Sherman Rose-tree House ” 
or the Old Whaling Station. 

The Larkin House, like many of the houses of the time, has 
a two-storied balcony at the front and sides, which, covered with 
roses and buginvillea, presents a delightful shelter from the 
brilliant sunshine. Mr. Larkin came to Monterey in 1832 and 
opened the first wholesale and retail establishment in the pueblo. 
He built his residence in 1834, and, after he became American 
consul, his home was.a political and social centre of great impor- 
tance, and the scene of many festive functions. Colton in his 


Sys 


OLD SPANISH CUSTOM HOUSE, MONTEREY 





“HOUSE OF THE FOUR WINDS’’, MONTEREY 


THE LARKIN HOUSE, MONTEREY 


SHERMAN ROSE-TREE HOUSE, 


MONTEREY 





meat 





22 


338 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


diary, ‘‘ Three Years in California,” carries a note under date of 
February 16, 1847, in which he says: ‘I have just come from 
the house of Thos. O. Larkin, Esq., where I left the youth, the 
beauty, the wisdom, and the worth of Monterey. This being the 
last night of the carnival, every one has broken his last egg-shells. 
Two of the young ladies, remarkable for their sprightliness and 
beauty, broke their cascarones on the head of our commodore, 
and got kissed by way of retaliation.”’ The house is at present the 
property of Robert F. Johnson, a former mayor of Monterey. 

A very interesting old adobe, also erected by Larkin in 1834, 
and used for many years as a private residence, is the ‘“‘ House of 
the Four Winds.” This place at the time of the American occupa- 
tion was a store, but soon became the first “‘ hall of records” in 
California, through the fact that Mr. W. C. Johnson, the first 
recorder of Monterey County, used the building as his office as 
well as his home. Our photograph shows this historic old house 
as it looked a few years ago, before civic pride rescued it from 
dilapidation to convert it into the club-house of the Monterey 
Civic Club. The name, which still attaches to the place, was 
given to it, probably, because of the weather-vane that for years 
swung continually in obedience to the variable winds of the 
Monterey Bay section. 

The so-called ‘‘ Sherman Rose-tree House,” in the heart of 
the business section upon Alvarado Street,’ was always a place 
of interest because of the romantic bit of lore that attaches to it, 
and indeed it was not without its claims as an interesting bit of 
old Hispanic architecture. The house was the home of Senorita 
Maria Ygnacia Bonifacio, and a popular story runs to the effect 
that Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman, who was detailed 
to Monterey in 1847, fell in love with the beautiful and popular 
senorita. When he had been ordered east and was calling for the 
last time upon his lady-love, it is said that he gave the senorita 
the rose-tree with the promise that when it bloomed he would 
return to claim her as his bride. The later famous General never 
returned, the promise was never fulfilled and Senorita Bonifacio 
spent her life unmarried. So far as any foundation in fact is 
concerned, it is quite certain that there was none, but the story, 


* Recently removed to make way for a new bank building. 


PHEAOLDSHOUSES- OF MONTEREY 339 


like many another, still clings to the memory of the distinguished 
General and the beautiful senorita, and made the old place, long 
used as a Spanish restaurant and tea-garden, a profitable business 
venture for its owners. 

At the corner of Pacific and Scott Streets stands an interesting 
but unpretentious one-story house that boasts of having been the 
‘first theatre in California.” The structure, a long, low adobe, 
typical of its date of erection (1843), was built by John Swan, a 
sailor, who came to Monterey from Mazatlan, Mexico. He 
erected the house as a sailors’ boarding-house, and its use as a 
theatre was only one incident in its long history. This building 
is now used as residences, with a tea-room and book-shop occupy- 
ing the northern wing. 

An old structure that retains much of its picturesque original- 
ity is the Old Whaling Station on Decatur Street. This house, 
although it dates only from 1855 and in no chronological sense 
belongs to the Spanish or Mexican periods, exhibits most of 
the outstanding characteristics of the typical casa de pueblo at 
Monterey. It is two-storied, of the gabled type, with the gable 
parallel to the street, and has the inevitable projecting balcony 
and the snuggling “‘ lean-to””’ at the rear. When Captain Daven- 
port, an old-time whaler of Cape Cod, came to Monterey in 1854, 
to organize the Monterey Whaling Company, whaling upon the 
Pacific became a commercial industry. A Portuguese company 
soon entered the field, and these two companies, operating sepa- 
rately, did a thriving business until 1865, when they were consoli- 
dated. The industry was an important one for about thirty-five 
years, but was finally abandoned in the late eighties, due to the 
fact that the growing scarcity of prey made the industry a failing 
commercial venture. This old house, now privately owned, 
remains in a fine state of preservation and looks much as it did 
in the old whaling days. 

One of the most interesting landmarks of old Monterey is 
Colton Hall, the “ first capitol ” building of California, and the 
meeting-place of the first constitutional convention. The edifice 
was designed and erected by Rev. Walter Colton, chaplain of 
the U.S. frigate Congress, who was appointed provisional alcalde 
(mayor), in 1846, by Commodore Stockton, and later elected by 


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341 


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ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON HOUSE, MONTEREY 


342 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


the people. Erected originally as a “ town-hall,” the building 
still continues to function as such. The structure is interesting in 
that it illustrates what was considered an appropriate and preten- 
tious municipal building of the day. 

The building is now flanked upon one end by the prison, 
which ruins the balanced simplicity of the pseudo-classic hall. 
Originally, however, the prison appears to have been a separate 
structure, the intervening portion having been built in at a 
later date. 

The portico is treated with a curious attempt at a delineation 
of the Ionic Order. The columns are unfluted and have no 
entasis, and the capitals are rather remote approximations of the 
‘““angle”’ Ionic. In general, the structure has a character not 
infrequently encountered in rural portions of the South, but that 
it can hardly be reminiscent of the South will be apparent when 
we remember that its designer was a Vermonter by birth, a gradu- 
ate of Yale in the class of 1822, and a former editor of the Phila- 
delphia North American. However, he had had the advantages 
of travel in Europe and the Orient, and may have based his archi- 
tectural essay upon something he had seen in Italy. 

Of all the houses in old Monterey, Spanish or American, 
perhaps none is of greater historic or literary interest than the 
“Robert Louis Stevenson House,” a two-storied residence in 
Houston Street between Pearl and Webster. The larger house, 
upon the street, bearing the sign is the authentic Stevenson house. 
This was the home of Jules Simoneau in 1879, when Stevenson, 
seeking health, came to Monterey as a place to find it. The house 
with yard and fence was the home of Dona Manuela Girardin, 
whose daughter was the wife of Doctor Heintz. With these good 
people Stevenson spent many a pleasant hour, and he has referred 
to them as the “ little doctor and his little wife.”” Monterey was 
a dull, little, sleepy town when Stevenson knew it. The capital 
had been removed to Sacramento, the county-seat to Salinas, and 
the great Del Monte Hotel had not as yet been built. Monterey 
was a dethroned queen in rags. 

During these quiet days of Monterey, however, many a writer 
and painter sought out the place because of her past glory, her 
historic and romantic interest, and her lingering Spanish atmos- 


THE OLD HOUSES OF MONTEREY 343 


phere. Besides Stevenson came Charles Warren Stoddard, Bret 
Harte, and Daniel O’Connell, Strong, Bierstadt, Tavernier, and 
Rollo Pieters. Stoddard has left us a picture of the place as it 
appeared in his day. 


““T saw her in decay, the once flourishing capital. The old convent was 
windowless and its halls half-filled with hay. The barracks and the calaboose 
inglorious ruins; the blockhouse and the fort mere shadows of their former 
selves. She was a dear old stupid town in my day. She boasted but a half-dozen 
thinly populated streets. Geese fed in the gutters and hissed as I passed by; 
cows, grazing by the wayside, eyed me in grave surprise; overhead the snow- 
white gulls wheeled and cried peevishly, and on the heights that sheltered the 
ex-capital the pine trees moaned and often caught the sea-fog among their thin 
branches when the little town was basking in the sunshine and dreaming its 
endless dreams.”’ 


But these days have gone forever; many of the interesting and 
beautiful old landmarks have been removed, others almost hope- 
lessly disfigured, and everywhere the hand of “‘ modern business ”’ 
encroaches upon whatever of the old or romantic remains. For- 
tunate it is, however, that much of the charm that is Monterey 
can never be obliterated—her silver crescent bay, her wonderful 
protecting hills, her majestic cypress forests, her matchless 
‘““seventeen-mile drive,’ Carmel, Point o’ Pines, the memories of 
Sloat, Sherman, and Stevenson! 





CHAPTER XXIX 


RANCHO CAMULOS—THE HOME-PLACE OF THE FABLED RAMONA 


the early Californians of Spanish and Mexican extraction; 

it is our purpose in this chapter to present for consideration 
a typical casa de campo, or farm-house, of the same interesting 
period. California in the old days had many great agricultural 
and cattle-raising estates. From as early as 1784 temporary 
grants to occupy lands, up to this time considered by the Spanish 
Government to be the actual property of the natives, were given 
by Governor Fages to prominent applicants. After 1795 perma- 
nent grants were given, and from then on, during both the Spanish 
and Mexican régimes, occasional grants of large acreage were 
made to important citizens or political favorites. During the 
Spanish period proper, however (1.e., before 1822), grants were 
not so common as afterward, but when one reads that, in 1784, 
Manuel Nieto was granted a tract of land bounded by the San 
Gabriel and the Santa Ana Rivers, the ocean and the mountains, 
in all some 300,000 acres, one may realize that principalities in 
the heart of what is now California’s golden orange-belt were 
acquired for the asking. 

The Camulos Rancho, originally Rancho San Francisco, of 
which this chapter treats is interesting not only historically, but 
also for the fascinating and romantic story that one of America’s 
great novelists has woven in and about the place. If the Estudillo 
House of San Diego can be called the “ marriage-place of 
Ramona,” Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson’s dusky heroine, Camulos 
Rancho, twenty-five miles east of the old Mission of San 
Buenaventura and in Ventura County, is as truly the “ home 
of Ramona.” 

When Mrs. Jackson interested herself in the Indian problem 
of California and decided to write a novel upon the theme near- 
est her heart, she went about southern California taking notes 
and making observations that would serve her in the accomplish- 
ment of her purpose. At the suggestion of Senor and Senora 
Antonio de Coronel, of Los Angeles, she visited Camiulos, the 
home of the distinguished Valle family. Here she found every- 


ik PAST chapters we have noticed the town residences of 


344 


345 





RANCHO CAMULOS. SOUTH ELEVATION 





RANCHO CAMULOS. THE CHAPEL INTERIOR 





SOUTH VERANDA OF THE RANCH HOUSE 


RANCHO CAMULOS. 


HOME-PLACE OF THE FABLED RAMONA — 347 


thing that she desired in the way of setting, characters, and local 
color for her memorable and touching story, ‘‘ Ramona,” the 
name of which was suggested, it is said, by the name of a child 
that the novelist met at the residence of Dr. J. De Barth Shorb, 
near Pasadena. Her inspiration for Senora Morena of “ Ra- 
mona ” was Senora Dona Ysabél del Valle, the widowed mistress 
of Camulos Rancho; her inspiration for the lad Felipe, of the 
book, was the late Senator Reginald F. del Valle, the eldest son 
of the Senora; while details of the sad but engrossing story find 
their counterpart in the physical facts and features of this delight- 
ful Spanish-Californian rancho. 

Rancho San Francisco, of which the present Camutlos was the 
residence and heart, was granted to Lieutenant Antonio del 
Valle, grandfather of the present owners of the estate, in 1839. 
This Antonio del Valle, like his grandson, the Senator, was prom- 
inent in Californian affairs. Heseems to have come to California 
in 1819 from San Blas, in Mexico, where he was a lieutenant in 
the San Blas infantry. Arriving in California, he was placed in 
charge of forty men and stationed at Presidio San Francisco. In 
1822 he accompanied the canonigo (official party) of the newly- 
independent Mexican government upon a visit to Fort Ross, the 
Russian stronghold upon Russian River, and was the same year 
transferred to Monterey, where he was given charge of an 
infantry company. 

At Monterey he did not get on well with Governor Argtello, 
against whom he made complaints, and as a result was tried by 
a military court and ordered to San Blas. He was finally per- 
mitted to remain in California, but the incident was not closed 
until 1826. Governors changed, however, and in 1834-1835 we 
find Lieutenant del Valle as comisionado in charge of the secular- 
ization of Mission San Fernando, where he served as major-domo 
until 1837. During the days of internal strife, Lieutenant del 
Valle lined up, as he saw best, for or against several powerful 
men. He was arrested in 1837, but seems, due to the changing 
fortunes of his prosecutor, to have been released, and in 1839 was 
granted the Rancho San Francisco, which lay in what 1s now Los 
Angeles and Ventura Counties, and included the sites of the 
modern towns of Castaic, Saugus, Newhall, and Kent, extending 


348 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


as far west as Piru. Here he established his residence and lived 
until his death, which occurred about the time that gold, the first 
ever found in California, was discovered upon his place. 

The story of the discovery of gold in Northern California is 
familiar to many, due to the fact that Marshall, the discoverer, 
toured America, telling the story upon the lecture platform, but 
that there were placer mines in Southern California some time 
before this is a new fact to many. Gold was discovered in 
Feliciano Canon on Rancho San Francisco March 9g, 1842, by 
Francisco Lopez, major-domo of San Fernando Mission. The 
discovery was made when Lopez, who was hunting some straying 
horses, sat down to rest and used his sheath-knife to dig up some 
wild onions, to the roots of which was attached the precious metal 
in the form of small nuggets. 

The news spread rapidly and soon many men were in the 
vicinity to work the placers, a thing difficult to accomplish, due 
to the great scarcity of water. The provincial government took 
little notice of the discovery, and, aside from the granting of an 
expediente (official title of discovery) to Lopez, and the appoint- 
ment of Don Ignacio del Valle, who had succeeded to the owner- 
ship of the rancho, as encargado de justicia (commissioner of 
justice) to preserve order in the mining district, was not inter- 
ested. The first California gold coined at the Philadelphia mint 
came from these mines. 

Ignacio del Valle, the son of the old Lieutenant, came to 
California in 1825 with Echeandia, and in 1828 became a cadet 
in the company at Presidio Santa Barbara. Going later to San 
Diego with the Governor, he was introduced into official circles 
and from this time on occupied places of prominence and trust 
under the Mexican and American governments, such as treasurer 
of civil government under Governor Pio Pico, elector in numer- 
ous elections, alcalde of Los Angeles in 1850, recorder in 1851, 
and member of the Legislature in 1852. In later life he confined 
his efforts to his estate at Camulos, and here he died in 1880 at the 
age of seventy-two. 

Don Ignacio del Valle married Senorita Ysabél de Varela 
at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels, in Los Angeles, Decem- 
ber 14, 1851, and it was she who was in active charge of the great 


RANCHO CAMULOS. 


OLD COCINA (KITCHEN) 





RANCHO CAMULOS. FOUNTAIN 


349 





350 


NR ANCHO:CAMULOSé 
SCRLe - tempts Fy- ~LEGEND~ 

3 ORIGINAL 

}LOUsSE 

Bi Buict Ten 

_. | TRARS ENC Ea 

— Wine-CeLrar 

.  UNDER-5-6-1-8 


| 4eeneveren Lave) ROOMS ABOVE 
Fy 23 AND 4* 


~V ERAN DA- 


PSR ES SSE 
N : N i 


N 


To CELLAR 


(——Drivewar— ---. 





HOME-PLACE OF THE FABLED RAMONA | 351 


estate when Mrs. Jackson visited Camulos in 1882. This estima- 
ble lady, the original of the authoress’s Senora Morena, suffered 
somewhat from the fact that the public attributed to her many of 
the short-comings, as well as the good qualities, of Mrs. Jackson’s 
character. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Jackson never met Senora 
del Valle, who was absent from the rancho when the novelist 
visited it. 

Of the old ranch-house and quaint little chapel the authoress 
has given us a faithful picture. The house has not changed mate- 
rially since the days of her visit, although the widowed mistress 
of Camulos has long since passed away. It is still, as Mrs. 
Jackson described it, “one of the best specimens to be found in 
California of the representative house of the half-barbaric, half- 
elegant, wholly-generous, and free-handed life led by the Mexi- 
can men and women of degree in the early part of this century, 
under the rule of the Spanish and Mexican viceroys.... It was a 
picturesque life, with more sentiment than will ever be seen again 
on these sunny shores. The aroma of it all lingers still: industries 
and inventions have not slain it; it will outlast its century.” 

Of this life and spirit the old rancho is perfectly reflective. 
The low whitewashed adobe walls of the house surround three 
sides of a patio, the flanking verandas providing shady retreats 
from the brilliant sunshine. The principal apartments are upon 
the south side of the court, while the little whitewashed cocina 
occupies the north side and stands opposite the dining-room, 
which is in the main house. This pleasant courtyard, with its 
flower-beds, its gravelled walks, its rose and closely cropped 
cypress hedges, forms the centre of domestic routine, its verandas 
the places in which many of the numerous duties of a great 
rancho, in this charming out-of-door country, were accomplished. 

Across the front (south) of the central portion of the house 
extends a broad veranda, divided into two parts by a flight of steps 
which gives access to the two levels upon which the house finds 
itself disposed. This porch, with the splendid outlook that it 
affords toward orchard, arbor, and mountain, makes a most 
delightful lounging-place, and was doubtless the scene of many 
a pleasant hour in the days of the gifted Senora. 

The little family chapel, to which much romantic and historic 


352 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


interest attaches, is, of course, unique in Californian rancho archi- 
tecture. The approach to this little shrine, a simple frame build- 
ing, is accomplished by a latticed shelter, which is provided with 
benches where those who cannot find room inside may sit. The 
chapel itself is only 14 x 20 feet, the shelter 14 x 30 feet. Many 
distinguished churchmen have officiated here, and the chapel, 
through these associations and the fact that Mrs. Jackson made 
much of it and its altar-cloth (still to be seen), enjoys a unique 
place in the history of the Catholic Church in California. 

The quaint and interesting old fountain which stands in an 
orange-grove in front of the chapel, and the little family cemetery, 
not far away, are features in themselves well worth a trip. Two of 
the bells, which hung from an oaken frame at the time of the 
novelist’s visit, are still in place, while a third was removed by 
Mrs. Josefa Forster, a daughter of Senora del Valle, to do duty 
in a chapel erected by her in Los Angeles. 

The old winery of brick, now used as a storehouse, the 
ancient willows, the spring and washing-place, the grape-arbor, 
the olive-mill, and many other features of the rancho, made dear 
to legions of readers by the authoress of “ Ramona,” still remain 
to add their note of romance and beauty of one of the most delight- 
ful and picturesque of the old ranch-houses of Spanish California. 





’ 
Rancho Camulos 


353 





306 LOS OLIVOS STREET, SANTA BARBARA 





316 LOS OLIVOS STREET, SANTA BARBARA 


23 


354 





& Van Pelt, Architects 


Marston 


, PASADENA 


GARFORD 


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A 


RESIDENCE 


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se eRe OOOO Te x 


cr taan emcee te IN SEEN I 


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RESIDENCE, LOS ANGELES 


CHAPTER XXX 


MODERN HISPANIC ARCHITECTURE 


as possible the story of the evolution of the Spanish-Colonial 

architecture of the Pacific Coast. It has been our purpose 
to see how, from this peculiar background of geography and 
climate, with its specific materials at hand, its definite racial 
and, therefore, historical, religious, social, and political influ- 
ences, this interesting and highly characteristic architectural 
expression has resulted. 

That the original buildings admirably reflect the thought 
and spirit of their time as far as that expression was possible to 
the builders, who had only poor materials and poor workmen 
at their disposal, goes without saying. Those who have strolled 
through the cloisters of the old missions or have sketched in the 
patios of the old houses know the charm and appropriateness of 
these interesting old folk expressions, crude and unrefined as 
they may appear in the light of our day. That they were honest, 
straightforward, and sincere—qualities unfortunately not char- 
acteristic of a great deal of our modern work—also cannot be 
denied. What, then, should the designer of today, with improved 
materials and good craftsmen, not be able to producer The cue 
of honest craftsmanship is offered him. Let him take it, and, 
having mastered the abiding principles of the style, turn to his 
modern problem and seek to express the life and tenor of our 
times in the spirit of the Spanish-Colonial, one of the few archi- 
tectures appropriate to a land with the climate of California and 
the Hispanic background that she possesses. 

In this connection it should be pointed out that the Spanish- 
Colonial is appropriate and proper in California, New Mexico, 
Arizona, Texas, Florida, and other parts of our land that were 
at one time within the Spanish domain, and here, as time goes 
on, this style will continue to be a favorite architectural vernacu- 
lar because it has in it the possibilities of an adequate expression 
not only of geographical setting and climate, but also of historic 
background and ethnic significance. 

For that matter, any situation in the United States where 


iz THE foregoing chapters we have set forth as connectedly 


555 





GLENWOOD MISSION INN, RIVERSIDE 





UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, SANTA BARBARA 


VuUuVvauvd VINVS ‘THALOH NOLONITUV 


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358 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


climatic conditions favor the use of patios and arcades will prove 
a suitable setting for these genial forms, and indeed in our Gulf 
States a large measure of inspiration for the solution of current 
problems is being sought in these old structures of the South- 
west—buildings that have in them many a lesson of structural 
propriety and craftsmanlike straightforwardness applicable to 
architectural work of whatever character. Indeed these and 
many other charming qualities have commended the style to the 
consideration of architects and searchers after the beautiful and 
appropriate, with the result that the Spanish-Colonial and the 
mother style, the Renaissance of Old Spain, are enjoying a popu- 
larity unprecedented in American architectural annals. 

California has wisely capitalized upon her architectural heri- 
tage and some of the most beautiful and meaningful architec- 
tural expressions of our day are to be found within her borders, 
where the real spirit of this delightfully simple, virile, and honest 
folk expression is sensed in both public and private buildings. 
The old mission structures, town and ranch houses, offer inex- 
haustible inspirations for institutional and residential architec- 
ture, and these are being utilized to the fullest, with the result 
that California cities are blossoming forth in a “ Renaissance ” 
of Spanish-Colonial. 

For types where local structures do not offer suggestion, 
designers have recourse to the sister style, the Spanish-Colonial 
of Mexico, and the larger field of Spanish forms of the homeland, 
as several of our photographs will testify. Thus California— 
true daughter of Old Spain—has forsaken pretty largely the 
Anglo-Saxon forms of her American population in favor of the 
more appropriate and, therefore, beautiful and significant forms 
of her Hispanic past, and, in so doing, she is making for herself 
an adequate, appropriate, indigenous, and beautiful architectural 
expression. What has been possible in California is just as possi- 
ble in other sections of our country where a genial climate and 
brilliant sunshine make such forms appropriate, and, as time 
goes on, this admirable and beautiful style will doubtless serve 
as a well-spring of inspiration for architects, designers, and 
beauty-lovers throughout the more favored portions of our land. 


359 





, Architect 


oodhue 


G 


Bertram G 


CALIFORNIA BUILDING, SAN DIEGO EXPOSITION, 1915 





Marston & Van Pelt, Architects 











Marston & Van Pelt, Architects 
“VILLA ALEGRE’’, JOHN HENRY MEYER RESIDENCE, SAN MARINO 


ONIYVW NVS ‘AONAGISAUY UAAAN AUNAH NHOl *.aAUOATV VTIIA,, ‘VOVHOVA NAGUVD 


spoNYyoIy ‘}]eq UeA 2 UOIIEW 


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DP WERG 








G. W. Smith, Architect 
LIVING-ROOM OF THE W. T. BRAINARD RESIDENCE, SANTA BARBARA 





G. W. Smith, Architect 
PATIO AT THE RESIDENCE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH, SANTA BARBARA 








Roy Sheldon Price, Architect H. H. Whiteley, Architect 
STAIRWAY, ‘DIAS DORADOS”, INCE RESIDENCE, BEVERLEY HILLS PATIO, “LA CABANA AZUL, LOS ANGELES 








A. LIST OF MISSIONS WITH DATES OF FOUNDING 


meal r eros de RA lcalay case eels c hen ho gel a es July 16, 1769 

II. San Carlos de Borromeo (Carmel) ............ June Senl 770 
Pemoat antonio: des Padua: , snc Pave cee cadet. July 4.58770 
Poeeesor a csapriels sArcangell = c..2 te cs dae oe coos Sept. ky Llyiyp 
MemsarteLaus, Obispo de Lolosa j.c+.02¢.e0022255 Sept. er 72 
Mermmoan ve rancisco de Asis... 0. 0000-060 feu anud Oct. at 70 
See arm) ane Capistrano, 6. cv .s soothe se ute oe sa eace Nov. TE 70 
RUM LAr ar UCC UASIS esq.) ac fe eae e oa ole ite fee Jan. PRN) 
POE AE DUCRAVENUUITS: sacs soe Caches kn eed os March 31, 1782 
MME AMV AT OATH tee oe tin s ccrgeis ce ene ied Se biee sack Dec. 4, 1786 
Pemmicvelurisiina- Concepcion © .4:42%0 6 eee ctw See we ee Dec. Seed Oy 
PINE MINCE CUZ cep ee 52s aa. ened ore: oes SAN ee Sept. 25, 1791 
WoublemiNuestra Senora de la Soledad ... 2.3. .00.0004 se Oct. 9, 1791 
Pervemoane jose de Guadalupe. . oo. 23.05. ce5 ewe dees June: 11,81797 
NUR TAT DAlitistaad hop cs hehe va eee eee ake VUncaee24nl 707 
areata Niionel, Arcangelo. wc os co sce of 05 oe ec apeere Julyoee 5.61707 
ay ieeoan fernando, Rey de-Espana .......3.....s.. Sept. Sar 707 
Peverimoanelwuis, Rey de Mrancia’-.o.:...2 02.065 0085 June 13, 1798 
SAMUS HE EAE ITCS Sl ela. nas wie oe we aime gts ale see dashing Sept. 17, 1804 
Permeranenatael. Arcangel 22.2 2.5.6 chee bs vue seb we Derm a4 cl oy 
eee SSE FANICISCO: CE-OOlANO. wv... ce wee vale ats pe eee os July Ave 1523 


(Dedicated April 4, 1824) 


B. LIST OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN GOVERNORS 
(Dates mark acceptance and surrender of office) 


SPANISH * (1767-1804) 


Ere ATIC CELOL(OLAN cic ase ere yore tees din: chen le ee wees 1767-1771 
Me MOMS UTI, etek Fe aS ere I ce me ee 1771-1775 
PS ECR Ge NCVCH 50a). oc cia cy Sh 5 8h ew wade a dw die oR es 1775-1782 
Pee G RE AOC ee acy. Hides ole 8 te ba woe io Moe ee 1782-1791 
SNe MCA TITOMIO RIS OMIEUS 0c. donor te Sos are fly ew tne See meen 1791-1792 
Wemios joaquin de Arrillaga 4... 22.0... < sean em 1792-1794 
(Ad Interim) 

SPM eC McChisOLICa peers ops Save 2A. So talaale Waktenen em are ee 1794-1800 
Setemtose loaguin. de Arrillaga j.2..c%sceeit athe ae oe ete oe 1800-1804 


* During this period governors administered both Baja and Alta California. 


SPANISH GOVERNORS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 
(1804-1821) 


ase sjoaguin: de Arrillagat 0.00.5 a. cee etre eee eae 1804-1814 

Pee ose Dario AT Puello cnc gi ias mista ate ees eee eae Biante: 1814-1815 
(Ad Interim) 

emirabia Vicente de‘sola os ssastansas «4c as eee eee 1815-1822 


367 


368 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND HOUSES 


MEXICAN GOVERNORS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 
(1821-1847) 


PablowVicentevde solaisetss os te in ee ee ee See 1822 

Leddon sais 7A rotiellogtnar at. eee een eee 1822-1825 

il stlosew Maria. tcheandtae ean e oe eee ee eee 1825-1831 
Lie ManttelaVictoriae. vo.6 re eats cocks te ee 1831-1832 
LV Pio Z PICO Bae Garces che poe ete Che GLa ae ee 1832 

(Ad Interim) 

Vetjose Pigueroa: So. sate ec ose Sen ee ee eee 1832-1835 
Ves Jose s+ Gastrovie sh caulk hc Ne aria ee ee eee oon 1835-1836 
Vil Nicholas: Gutierres. 260, eee (January to May) 1836 

(Ad Interim) 
VIEL Mariano (Chico coun ee eee ere ee ee (May to August) 1836 

LX. Juan Be Alvarado Gases 3 eek eee 1836-1842 

A. -Manuelo-Micheltorenay 2.3.5.5. «5 ] se eo eee 1842-1845 
ALE PIG | PICO. eo eee ie tae tee 6 eee 1845-1846 
XII; JosesMaria Klores™.% Aaciac oe oe ee eee 1846-1847 

SIS And restPicO ee seer ia ee eee (January II to P3jei547 


American Régime 


C. TABLE OF MISSION ADMINISTRATORS 


Junipero Serra (padre-presidente) ..4 2...) 3 eee 1769-1784 
Francisco Palou (presidente): ..%.5 sees ee 1784-1785 
Francisco Fermin de Lasuén (presidente) ............ 1785-1803 
Estevan lapis (presidente) ...+ 2... .22 ee 1803-1812 
Jose-Senan (presidente) 2.3. ©) wa. ee ee 1812-1815 
Mariano Payéras (presidente) «02 ..). 24. eee 1815-1819 
Mariano Payeras (comisario prefecto)® 2...) oe 1819-1823 
José Senan (presidente) 125.5%. 2.0. ohare. 1819-1823 
Vicente de Sarria (prefecto and presidente) ............ 1823-1825 
Vicente de:Sarria (prefecté.) 4). oc 1825-1835 
Narciso Duran. (presidente)... ..20. aan ae oe 1825-1827 
José Bernardo Sanchez (presidente) ....s.5. 2. eee 1827-1831 
Narciso Duran (presidente): |<...) 05. 1831-1839 3 
Narciso -Duran (prefecta): 1. ..2°o9e000 ee oe 1835-1846 
Francisco Garcia Diego (prefecto for Zacatecans) ..... 1833-1835 
José Joaquin Jimeno (presidente for Fernandinos) ..... 1839-1846 
José Joaquin Jimeno (pretecto) 2. ..5.....2 35 eee 1846-1856 
Francisco Garcia Diego, First Bishop’ .2.5.. 23.0 1840—- 


*Comisario prefecto, a new and superior office. This official had supreme control 
of all mission temporal affairs. 

*In 1833 a division of labors was effected in California, priests from the College of 
Zacatecas administering the missions north of San Carlos, the San Fernandinos those 
south of San Antonio. 


am INDEX 





: . a 


: : ws 
aa 7) oe sve pe Aa L* 


4 








INDEX 


A 

Abalone Point, 167 

Abella, Padre Ram6n, 301 

Abrego, José, 336 

Acacia, 314 

Acapulco, 6 

Aguirre, Antonio, 329-331 

Aguirre, Casa, Santa Barbara, 329-331 

Ahumada, Padre Tomas, 121 

Alcantara, Spain, 90 

Alemany, Bishop, 298 

Adobe, 75, 79, 80, 94, 147, 155, 160, 170, 200 
ENEOG 303 O24 125860273. 302) 303, 300 
319, 322, 333 

Alfonso VI of Spain, 92 

Altamira, Padre José, 302 

Altars, mission, 132, 141, 164, 182, 273, 284, 292 
296 

Alva, Rev. J.G., 142 

Alvarado, Juan B., 50, 322, 325 

Americans in California, 47, 51 

Amaurrio, Padre Gregorio, 154 

Amusements in California, 71 

Angelus, 55, 220 

Anza, Juan de, 35, 36, 116, 289 

Apaches, 19, 22 

Aqueducts, 120, 217-218 

AmTenes QOss103.) 104, 131, 155, 163, 171, 182 
203, 218, 262 

Architects, 87, 121-122, 135-136, 159-160, 180 
IQI, 223, 257, 296, 319 

Arguello, José Dario, 209, 269, 320 

Argtello, Luis, 294, 302, 320, 347 

Argiello, Rev. José, 209 

Arizona, 10, 16, 35, 100, 104, I10, 355 

Arona, Italy, 256 

Arrellanes, Casa, Santa Barbara, 326-329 

Arrellanes, Theodoro, 329 

Arrillaga, José Joaquin, 42, 45, 47, 121, 160 

Arrota, Padre José, 236 

Arroyo, Manuel, 115 

Arroyo, Padre, 280, 287 

Arroyo de la Cuesta, Padre, 299 

Audiencia, 15 

Alaya, Juan Manuel de, 288 

Azores, Islands, 12 

Aztec architecture, 94 

Aztec sun-symbols, 163 


B 


Ballesteros, Corporal, 45, 283 
Baltimore, 124 


Bancrott, H: H.. 41, 67, 76, 160, 164, 172, 241 
310, 322, 325 

Bandini, Juan, 171 

Baptistries, 55, 136, 155, 172, 182, 266, 280 

Barcelona, 9, 159 

Barcenilla, Padre Isidoro, 42, 299 

Barona, Padre José, 121 

Basso, Padre Juan, 234 

Bear Flag Republic, 303 

Bells, 24, 33, 122, 148, 164-165, 168, 176, 179 
192, 212, 243, 249, 270, 300, 301, 316, 352 

Benton, Arthur, architect, 151 

Berruguete, 94 

Bianciardi, E. D.R., 57 

Bidwell, John, 68 

Bohemia, 154 

Bonifacio, Senorita Maria Ygnacia, 338-339 

Books: at missions; 117, 186, 223, 228, 234, 251 
284, 301; in California, 322-325 

Borica, Diego de, 42, 45, 275, 292, 298 

Boscana, Padre Geronimo, 121 

Boston, 330 

Bouchard, 191, 276 

Branciforte, 67, 275, 276 

Brayton, Colonel, 124 

Brazil, 12 

Bricks and Brickwork, 75, 80, 81, 110, 113, 135 
147, 155, 172, 200, 227, 233, 243, 299, 303 

Bucareli, Viceroy Antonio Maria, 34, 288 

Buckler, Father, 234 

Buelna, Comisionado, 276 

Buginvillea, 336 

Building materials, use of, 79-80, 81 

Bull-and-Bear fights, 71, 269 

Burgos, Spain, 9, 93 

Burgundy, 92 

Buttresses, 103, 104, 181, 194, 220, 233 

Byzantium, 92 


C 


Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez, 5, 6, 334 

Cadiz, Spain, 127 

Cajon Canon, 58 

California, Alta, 5, 6, 8,9, 10, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 
245.30, -35,°52, 04, 67, 124,126, 131,107, 100 
188, 320, 334 

Caliiorniays BajayGymiOn 1012262 Ges O mea Onmae 
188, 320, 334 

Calzada, Padre José Antonio, 47, 179, 229 

Cambén, Padre Pedro Benito, 33, 36, 40, 169 
208 

Camino Real, 9, 114, 144, 279 


371 


372 


Campanario, 103, 109, 122, 132, 136, 147, 152 
163, 175-179, 185, 192, 212, 220, 233, 265, 280 

Camilos, Rancho, 316, 344-352 

Candlesticks, 167, 185, 234, 284, 298 

Cape Mendocino, 5 

Capistrano, Italy, 154 

Capital, removed to Monterey, 36 

Carbaca, Paymaster, 321 

Carlos III of Spain, 30, 39, 188 

Carmel, 30, 256, 257, 258, 273, 343 

Carmel Bay, 76 

“Carmel” Mission, 257 

Carreta, 69, 70, 314 

Carrillo, Anastasio, 233 

Carillo Antonia, 321 

Carrillo, Dona Josefa, 191-192 

Carrillo House, Santa Barbara, 331 

Carrillo, Joaquin, 235 

Carrillo, Raimundo, 230, 320, 321 

Casa de campo, 309, 333 

Casa de pueblo, 309 

Casanova, Father, 258, 260 

Cascarone balls, 71, 338 

Castile, 199, 268 

Castro House, San Juan,’Calif., 279 

Castro, José, 325 

Catala, Padre, 283 

Catalonia, Spain, 127 

Cat-tail, 79, 155 

Cavaller, Padre José, 34, 244 

Cavendish, Thomas, 6 

Cedros Island, 5 

Cemeteries at missions, 119, 131, 136, 147, 148 
150, ISI, 156, 186-187, 217, 227, 246, 280, 294 

Cervantes, bell-founder, 148 

Cervantes, Francisco, 167 

Chapels: family, 309, 313, 316, 351-352, 

mission, 217, 223, 266, 280 
mortuary, 140-141, 280 

Chapman, Joseph, 191, 194 

Chihuahua, 18, 19 

Chimneys, 75, 78, 81 

Choir-lofts (mission), 132, 136, 156, 182, 303 

Choquet, Captain, 116 

Church of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, 
188-193, (founding of) 189, 197, 348 

Churriguera, 94 

Churrigueresque architecture, 94, 103, 273 

Cipres, Padre, 47, 230, 250 

Cistercian Order, 92 

Classical-revival architecture, 103, 273 


Clay, 75,79 
Climate of California, 8-9, 154, 238 


INDEX 


Cloisters, 55, 104, 110 

Cock-fighting, 71 

College of San Fernando, Mexico City, 19, 39 
299 

Colorado River Missions, 47, 171 

Colton Hall, “first capitol of California”, 339- 
342 

Colton, Rev. Walter, 336, 339-342 

Congress, frigate, 339 

Costans6, Miguel, 24, 30 

Constantinople, 136 

Convents (monjéria), 55, 128 

Convicts in California, 67 

Cordoba, Engineer, 66 

Cordova, Pedro de, 12, 15 

Cordova, Spain, 181, 199 

Cormillas, Father, 273 

Coronel, Antonio de, 344 

Cortés, 12, 94 

Cosoy, 114 

Cota, Francisco, 234 

Cota, Sergeant, 236 

Council of the Indies, 15, 19 

Covarrubias, José M., 235 

Crespi Padre Juan, 25, 26, 30, 254, 258, 260 

Croix, Marquis de, Viceroy, 19, 67, 288 

Cruzado, Padre, 87, 180, 181, 200 

Cuba, 230 

Culiacan, Mexico, 160 

Curved gables, 103, 104, 135 

Custom House, Monterey, 326, 334-335 

Cypress Point, 76 


Dams758, 1202175 250Na17 

Dana, 318 

Dancing, 71, 269, 338 

Date-palms, 57, 125, 204 

Davenport, Captain, 339 

Del Monte Hotel, Monterey, 342 

Den, Richard S., 227 

Diego, Bishop Francisco Garcia, 211, 224, 227 
330 

Diocletian, Emperor, 229 

Doak, Thomas, 284 

Dobson, Benjamin, 284 

Dolores, 289, 291 

Domes, 99-100 

Domes, use of, at missions, 87, 135, 155, 163 
182, 265 

Dominguez, Casa, Santa Barbara, 329-331 

Dominicans, 12, 15, 19, 21, 39 

Doors, 110, 136, 164, 185, 203, 212, 217, 265- 
266, 273, 314 


INDEX 373 


Doric architecture, 224, 251, 262, 265, 266,270 Franciscans, 15, 18-19, 21, 22, 52, 142, 143, 155 


Doyle, Rev. George, 152 257, 288 

Drake, Francis, 5 Frémont, General John C., 301, 313 

Drake’s Bay, 6 Furniture (mission), 62, 185, 227, 234, 274, 284 
Duhaut-Cilly, 135, 141, 142, 220 298 

Dumetz, Padre, 199 Fuster, Padre Vicente, 36, 115, 117, 159, 236 
Duran, Padre Narciso, 300, 301 

Durango, 18 @ 


Dyes, Indian, 61 Se 
Gallardo, Rev. Dominic, 143 


E Galvez, José de, 19, 22, 24, 188 

Garcia, Padre Diego, 254 

Gaviota, California, 229 

Germany, 154, 292 

Gerona, Spain, 89 

Gil y Taboada, Padre Luis, 189, 230, 301 
Girardin, Dona Manuela, 342 

Gold in California, 245, 348 

Golden Gate, 288 

Gomez, Padre Francisco, 25, 26 

Gothic architecture, 92, 93, 103, 265, 273 
Governors, List of, 367 


Earthquakes, 81, 120, 160, 172, 175, 176, 200 
DOGU ZU 215. 230; 237, 278, 283, 290, 208 

Echeandia, José Maria, 348 

Egypt, 126 

El Toro, California, 155 

Encomienda System, I5 

Engelhardt, Father Zephyrin, 216, 228, 291 

English in California, 5-6 

Escorial, 94 

Estudillo House, San Diego, 309-317, 322, 330 


344 ; 
Estudillo, José Antonio, 310, 316 Seay Felipe, moses 6 
Estudillo, José Maria, 310 rapes (mission), 57,120,209, 24 


Greece, 89 

Green, H.A., 274 

Grilles, 113, 119, 204 

F Guadalajara, Mexico, 109, 117 

Guadalupe, Sanctuario de, 109 

Guatemala, Missions in, 15 

Guerra, Casa de la, Santa Barbara, 322-326 


Estudillo, Salvador, 310, 313 
Excommunication by padres, 36, 116 


Hachadas. 09,122, 13'5, TA4l, 211, 220-223, 233 
243, 249, 265, 270-273, 294 
Fages, Dona Eulalia, 335 ae 
Ish Pedro, 2 SA, MA, PS, iste: OM! 329, 3 
ee ie 7m nL CADET alee ? Guerra, Gardens, de la, Santa Barbara, 326 
Bereell Ankur, 320 Guerra, José de la, 283, 318, 320-326 
: Guerra, Pablo, 325, 326 
Faura, Padre José, 159 f 
: : 5 Guerra, de la, Street, Santa Barbara, 331 
Ferdinand III of Spain (Saint), 199 5; ‘ 
: é Gulf of California, 21 
Ferdinand V of Spain, 12, 92 ie 
; é Gutiérrez, Colonel, 171 
Ferdinand VII of Spain, 48 Gutié Pad ZR 
Figs (mission), 56, 171, 209, 269 utente, Ladiailos: TW A7s222 
Figueroa, José, 50 


Fitch, Henry, 191-192 H 

Floods in California, 152, 237, 278, 295 Harte, Bret, 169, 343 

Floor-tiles, 75, 136, 154, 234, 265, 316, 317 Hartnell William E. P., 50-51, 278, 310 
Flores, Gumesuido, 331 Hearst, William Randolph, 303 
Florida, 355 Heintz, Doctor, 342 

Flowers raised at the missions, 58 Herrera, 94 

Font, Captain, 284 Hispania, 90 

Font, Padre Pedro, 116 Pitan seg 

Fonts, baptismal, 136, 139, 165-166, 182, 300 Holy Land, 33, 126 

Forster, Mrs. Josefa, 352 Horse-racing, 71 

Fort Ross, 5, 347 Horton, “‘Father”’, 316 

Fountains, 119, 131, 141, 218, 220, 309 Hospitality in California, 68, 313, 325, 335-336 


France, 48, 92, 292, 335 Hotels in California, 68 


374 


“House of the Four Winds”, Monterey, 336 
338 

Hungary, 154 

Huss, John, 154 


I 


Iberian Peninsula, 89, 90 

Iberians, 89 

Illas California, 6 

Indians of California, 10-11, 127, 142, 144, 155 
170, 237, 244-245, 283 

Interior decoration, 61, 113, 136, 141, 144, 149 
I51, 163, 203, 223-224, 234, 243, 251, 280, 283 
284, 292 

Ionic architecture, 224, 342 

Irrigation, 58, 120, 142, 194, 244, 295, 296, 317 
320 

Isabella, Queen, 12, 92 

Italy, 89, 313 


J 

Jackson, Mrs. Helen Hunt, 313, 316, 344, 351 
352 

Jalisco, Mexico, 124 

Jayme, Padre Luis, 10, 35, 115 

Jesuits (Society of Jesus), 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 52 
298 

Johnson, Robert, F., 338 

Johnson, W.C., 338 

Joinville, Sire John de, 126 

Jolon, California, 241 

Joven Guipuzcoana, ship, 330 

Juncosa, Padre Domingo, 34 


K 
Keats, 229 
Kewen, Colonel E. J. C., 197 
King City, California, 241 
Kino, Father Eusebio, 16-17 


L 


La Capilla Real, Monterey, 257, 268-274 

Laguna, 167 

Land-grants in California, 66, 68, 199, 322, 344 

Landmarks Club, 151, 160, 200, 207 

Langle, M. de, 61 

Langsdorff, G. H. von, 299 

Lantern, 135 _ 

La Paz, Mexico, 24 

La Pérouse, J. F.G., 58, 259, 335 

La Purisima Concepcion, Mission of, 42, 159 
230, 233, 236-241, 250, 255 

Larkin House, Monterey, 336 


INDEX 


Larkin, Isabel, 331 

Larkin, Thomas O., 336, 338 

Las Casas, 15 

Lasuén, Padre Fermin F. de, 35, 41, 42, 45, 116 
117, 119; 120, 126, 1275154, 164.9190 210 
236, 245, 246, 249, 251, 260, 275, 283, 299 

Lemons, 57, 171 

Leon, 199 

Leonidas (Ship), 330 

Lime, 76, 80, 155, 260 

Lincoln, President, 142 

Line of Demarcation, 12 

Locomotion in California, 68-69 

Lompoc, California, 237 

London, 284 

Lopez, Francisco, 348 

Lorenzo River, 275 

Loreto, Mission of Our Lady of, 17, 19 

Loreto, Presidio of, 25, 36 

Los Angeles, 8, 124, 153, 169, 188, 199, 208, 309 
310, 333, 347, 348 

Los Angeles, Pueblo, (founding of) 40 and 188- 
189, 67 

Los Angeles River and Valley, 189, 207 

Louis IX of France, 126, 199 

Lummis, Charles F., 151 


M 

Madrid, Spain, 132 

Majorca, Island of, 21, 254 

Manila trade, 6, 8 

Marin County, 302 i 

Marshall, discoverer of gold, 348 

Martiarena, Padre José M., 45, 283 

Martin, Padre Francisco, 121 

Martin, Padre Juan, 250 

Martinez, Padre Adriano, 45 

Martinez, Ignacio, 301 

Martinez, Padre Luis Antonio, 245, 246 

Mazatlan, Mexico, 339 

Mena, Lucas, 182 

Merida, Spain, 90 

Merino, Padre Agustin, 42, 299 

Mervine, Captain, 335 

Mestres, Father R. M., 267, 274 

Mexican independence, 48, 318 

Mexico, 8; 15; 19, 21, 22, 20, 2Ssn4amcuems seas 
39, 55, 57, 58, 67, 75, 88, 89, 93, 94, 99, 100 
104, 109, LIO; 117, 124501276142 eGo mloO 
163, 181, 224, 230, 234, 244, 255, 268, 270 
296, 309, 321, 330 

Mexico City, 22, 34, 42, 94, 320, 336 

Micheltorena, Manuelo 142, 171, 224, 246 





INDEX 


Milan, Italy, 256 

Mill Creek Canyon, 197 

Mill-stones, 197 

Mill Valley, 76 

Mission administration, 52-63 

Mission administrators, list of, 368 

Mission style architecture, 103 

Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of 
Mary, 172, 185, 192 

Missions: Blacksmithing at, 62, 185, 204 

Missions: Building arrangement at, 52-55 

Missions: Carpentry at, 62, 136, 149 

Missions: Construction of buildings at, 80-87 
100, 119, 128-131, 155 

Missions: Daily routine at, 55 

Missions: Diet at, 56 

Missions: Dissatisfaction with, 48-49 

Missions: Dress of Indians at, 56 

Missions: Fires at, 80, 115, 155, 238, 246 

Missions: Grain-raising at, 56, 58, 119, 127- 

128 

Missions: Industries at, 56-63, 292 

Missions, Indian revolts at, 35, 115-116, 171 
230-233, 238-240, 283 

Missions: Laundry facilities at, 218 

Missions: Leather work at, 62 

Missions: List of, 367 

Missions: Plans of building at, 55, 103, 109-110 
122, 131-132, 147, 155-156, 163, 200, 203, 230 
258, 279-280 

Missions: Products of, 56-58 

Missions: Prosperity, 47 

Missions: Restoration of, 142-143, I5I, 152 

1021207) 211, 212, 234, 251, 258, 262, 

Missions: Sale of, 51, 149, I7I, 197, 235, 240 
246, 254, 301, 303 

Missions: Secularization of, see Secularization 

Missions: Shops at, 55 

Missions: Textile-weaving at, 56, 171, 292 

Moctezuma, Viceroy, 17 

Mofras, Duflot de, 132, 133 

Monserrat, Spain, 316 

Monterey, 24, 33, 35, 36, (removal of capital 
to) 39, 45, 68, 76, 132, 169, 188, 240, 256, 257 
262, 267, 268, 269, 270, 273, 274, 288, 289 
295, 300, 321, 333, 334-343, 347 

Monterey Bay, 6, 26, 28, 29, 30, 236, 256, 275 
334 

Monterey County, 251, 338 

Monterey cypress, 76, 257, 335, 343 

Monterey pine, 76 

Monterey Presidio, 39, 67, 116, 256, 268-269 
335 





3/5 


Monterey Whaling Company, 339 
Montesino, Antonio de, 12 

Moorish architecture, 90-91, 103, 180, 223, 265 
Moors, 75, 87, 89, 90, 92, 109, 199 

Mora, Bishop, 124, 142 

Moraga, José, 283, 290, 291, 296 

Morals, 66, 67, 68, 72 

Morelas, Doctor, 284 

Moreno, Senora, 347, 351 

Mount Tamalpais, 76 

Mugartegui, Padre Pablo de, 117, 154 
Murder of mission father, 276 

Murguia, Padre José Antonio de, 87, 295, 296 


N 


Napoleon, 48 

Native Sons of the Golden West, 335 

Neve, Felipe de, 36, 41, 64, 67, 188, 208, 318 

Neve’s plan of California colonization, 188-189 

New Mexico, 10, 41, 100, 355 

New Spain, 15, 22, 99 

Nieto, Manuel, 344 

Nobili, Rev. John, 298 

Noriega, Pedro, 321 

Nuestra Sonora de la Soledad, Mission of, 42 
236, 251-255, 276 





O 


Oaks, 79 

Oceanside, California, 126 

O’Connell, Daniel, 343 

O’ Keefe, Rev. Joseph J., 143 

Olbés, Padre Ramén, 230, 276 

Old Glory, 334 

Olives, California, 56-57, 120, 125, 204, 269 
298, 300, 314 

Oramas, Padre Cristobal, 41, 216 

Orange County, 79 

Oranges, Mission, (introduction of), 57, 171 
209, 269 

Orchards, Mission, 56, 141, 171, 194, 197, 208- 
209, 238 

Ordaz, Padre Blas, 238, 240 

Orena, Gaspar, 333 

Organ, 284 

Ortega, Guadalupe, 191 

Ortega, José F. de, 35, 116, 208, 318, 319-320 

O’Sullivan, Rev. St. John, 160, 167 

Ovens, 187, 284, 314 


P 


Pacheco, Governor, 270 
Padrés, 303 


376 


Paintings, in the missions, 167, 182, 186, 223 
224, 234, 273-274, 284, 292, 298 

Paintings, in California, 316-317 

Pala, 147, 149) 151 

Pala Valley, 128, 152 

Palatingua Indians, 144, 152 

Palimasan2 5A. 

Palou, Padre Francisco, 35, 36, 41, 259, 288 
290, 291, 295, 296 

Pame Indians, 22 

Parron, Padre Fernando, 24 

Pasadena, California, 169, 194, 197 

Paso Robles, California, 241 

Paterna, Padre Antonio, 41, 216 

Patio, 55, 103, 104, 109-110, 119, 122, 128, 131 
TGR WS; DOR, Mir ies, ByIs. Ae, Aste, BS 
279, 313, 314, 322, 326, 330-331 

Pauma Indians, 144 

Payéras, Padre Mariano, 191, 237, 238, 240 

Pedragosa Creek, 217 

Pena, Padre Tomas de la, 275, 295 

Pepper-tree (Schinus molle), 57, 294, 314 

Pérez, Juan, 25, 29, 30 

Pérez, Pascual, 316 

Persia, 92 

Pern, 7 

Peyri, Padre Antonio, 45, 87, 127, 128, 132 
I4I, 142, 144, 152, 200 

Philadelphia Mint, 348 

Philadelphia North American, 342 

Philip III of Spain, 334 

Philippines, 6, 274 

Piano, first in California, 316 

Pico, A. M., 302 

Pico, Pio, 61, 142,171,227, 246, 401, 349 

Pieras, Padre Miguel, 33, 241 

Pieters, Rollo, 343 

Pinon pines, 76 

Pius Fund of the Californias, 17 

Plateresque architecture, 93-94 

Plaza Church, Los Angeles, 9, 188-193 

Plaza Hotel, San Juan, California, 279 

Point Lobos, 76 

Point of Pines, 334, 343 

Point Reyes, 26 

Pooley, Professor Frank J., 149-151 

Pope Alexander VI, 12 

Pope Clement X, 199 

Portilla, Pablo de la, 142 

Portola, Gaspar de; 9, 24, 25,726, 28,929, 40 
334 

Portuguese, 5, 12, 339 

Potatoes, first in California, 58 


INDEX 


Prat, Dr: Pedro, 24, 25, 26, 30,45 

Prescott, 94 

Presidios, 64-66 

Presidio Chapel, Monterey, 9, 81, 110 

Provincias Internas, 41 

Pueblos, establishment of, 66, 67 

Pulpits, Mission, 136, 182, 211, 234, 262, 266- 
267, 280 


Q 
Quintana, Padre Andrés, 276 


Quiroga, 15 


R 


Ramirez, José Antonio, 191 

Ramirez, José M., 234 

Ramona, 313, 316, 344, 352 

Rancho Camilos, See Camilos 

Rancho Encino, 199 

Rancho National, 322 

Rancho San Francisco, 344, 347, 348 

Rancho San Julian, 322 

Ranchos, Fare on, 68 

Ranchos, Stock-raising on, 69 

Rangel, Rev. D., 142 

Real, Padre José, 273, 296 

Redwood, 76 

Renaissance architecture, 93-94, 100, 103, 358 

Reus, Spain, 127 

Reyes, Francisco, 199 

Ribas, Father, 16 

Ribera, Antonio, 57 

Ripoll, Padre Antonio, 87, 200, 217, 223 

Rivera y Moncada, Fernando de, 25, 35, 36 
67, 116, 188, 288, 289, 290, 295 

Robinson, Alfred, 243, 318, 330 

Rodriguez, Padre, 238, 240 

Roger Williams (Ship), 330 

Roguefeuil, Camille de, 292 

Romanesque architecture, 92 

Roman architecture in Spain, 89-90, 103 

Romans, 89, 90 

Rome, 142, 229 

Romeu, José Antonio, 42 

Roofing tiles, 75, 80, 119, 128, 147, 155, 203 
216, 233, 237, 241, 245, 262, 279, 292, 296 
302, 309, 313, 322 ; 

Roofs, 76, 79, 104, II17, 119, 128, 147, 175, 220 
245, 249, 262, 280, 294 

Rubi, Padre Mariano, 254 

Rubio, Father Ciprian, 211 

Rubio, Padre José Maria Gonzalez, 300 

Ruelas, bell-founder, 165, 179 


INDEX 


Ruiz, Francisco M., 121 
Ruiz, Manuel Estévan, 259 
Russians in California, 5, 8, 302-303, 347 


S 

Sacramento, 342 

Sacristies, 55, 155, 164, 172, 182, 203, 223, 234 
280 

Saddleback Mountain, 153, 155 

Saint Agnes, 229 

Saint Anthony’s College, Santa’Barbara, 143 

Saint Anthony of Padua, 144 

Saint Charles Borromeo, 256, 259 

Saint Ferdinand, 199, 200 

Saint Francis of Assisi, 21, 22, 305, 316 

Saint James of Alcala, 114 

Saint John the Baptist, 283, 284, 317 

Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse, 244 

Saint Louis, King of France, 126, 199, 200 

Sal, Ensign, 275 

Salamanca, Spain, 90, 186 

Salinas, 342 

Salinas River, 250 

Salinas Valley, 254 

Salsperde Creek, 238 

Salvatierra, Father Juan Maria, 16-18 

San Antonio (Ship), 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 116 
257 

San Antonio de Padua, Mission of, 33, 79, 103 
236, 241-244, 250, 257, 269 

San Antonio de Pala, Asistencia of, 82, 103 
109, 126, 131, 144, 244 

San Antonio, Texas, 19, 100, 109 

San Blas, Mexico, 34, 35, 116, 124, 188, 347 

San Buenaventura, Mission of, 24, 33, (found- 
ing of) 40, 41, 45, 81, 87, 103, 104, 109, 120 
136, 176, 199, 208-215, 216, 318, 344 

San Carlos Borromeo, Mission of, 23, 30, 33, 61 
Gols ZO 7,01O4,. 109, e010; 113, 117,255 
256-267, 268, 295, 318 

San Carlos Church, Monterey, 268, 334 

San Carlos (Ship), 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 34, 288 
290 

Sanchez, Padre José B., 121 

Sanchez, Padre Miguel, 180 

BaneLiepo, ©, 21, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35 
S7qOomi TA wo: TTO, 120) 122, 124.9126).127 
LSet OO. LOT. 236. 244, 300) 309, 310) 316 
321, 334, 344, 348 

San Diego Bay, 5, 6, 9, 34, 47, 310 

San Diego County, 79, 126, 144 

San Diego de Alcala, Mission of, 10, 25-29, 36 
45, 103, 114-125, 126, 199, 269, 314 


Sues 


San Diego, Immaculate Conception Church 
122, 124 
San Diego, “Mission Bay”, 310 
San Diego, “Mission Valley”, 114 
San Diego, “Old Town”, 114, 120, 122, 124 
310, 313 
San Diego, Point Loma, 29, 114 
San Diego, Presidio Hill, 28, 114 
San Diego Presidio, 66, 115, 121, 126 
San Diego River, 114 
San Diego Sun, 124 
San Diego Union, 124 
San Fernando, Rey de Espana, Mission of 
(founding of) 45, 62, 82, 103, 110, 113, 126 
199-207, 209, 212, 233, 269, 347 
San Francisco, 236, 249, 288, 289, 290, 294, 296 
300, 302 
San Francisco Bay, 5, 9, 35, 47, 76, 114, 116 
208, 288, 295, 298, 302, 303 
San Francisco de Asis, Mission of, (founding of) 
35 and 290, 36, 61, 76, 159, 288-294, 295, 301 
302 
San Francisco de Espada Mission, Texas, 109 
San Francisco Presidio, 39, 67, 76, 290, 325, 347 
San Francisco Solano, Mission of, 9, 288, 302- 
305 
San Gabriel Arcangel, Mission of, 33, 34, 45, 61 
Sin 251 G7 seLOF EL OA LOOM Tl 72 O.m1 22.613 
142, 169-187, (founding of) 170, 188, 191 
192, 194, 199, 204, 208, 209, 230, 233, 250 
269, 289 
San Gabriel River, 170, 344 
San Joaquin Rancho, 153 
San Joaquin Valley, 47 
San José, California, 296 
San José de Aguayo, Mission of, Texas, 100, 141 
San José de Guadalupe, Mission of, 42, 61, 288 
298-300 
San José de Guadalupe Pueblo, 39, 40, 67, 188 
296 
San José (Ship), 24 
San Juan, California, 279 
San Juan Bautista, Mission of, 45, 103, 132 
275, 279-287, (founding of) 283 
San Juan Capistrano, California, 153 
San Juan Capistrano, Mission of, (founding of) 
35, 36, 45, 61, 79, 81, 87, 103, 109, I10, 113 
116, 197,9420 127, 126,0127,.13101 32; 251~ 
168, (dedication of church) 160, 199, 236 
San Juan Capistrano Mission, Texas, 109, 110 
San Juan Point, 167 
San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Mission of, 34, 61 
80, 120, 126, 127, 236, 241, 243, 244-249 


378 


San Luis Rey de Francia, Mission of, (found- 
ing of) 45, 57, 79, 80, 81, 87, 103, 109, 110 
113, 121, 122, 126-143, (chronology of) 128- 
131, (dedication of church) 131, 144, 149 
163, 176, 199, 212, 236 

San Luis Rey River, 45, 126, 144, 152 

San Marcos Pass, 229 

San Miguel Arcangel, Mission of, 45, 103, 236 
249, 251 

San Miguel Mission, Baja California, 121, 316 

San Pablo Bay, 302 

San Rafael, 301, 302 

San Rafael, Arcangel, Asistencia of, 113, 288 
300-302, 303 

San Sebastian, Spain, 330 

San Xavier del Bac Mission, Arizona, 100, 109 
I4I 

Santa Ana Mountains, 153 

Santa Ana River, 344 

Santa Barbara, California, 143, 191, 208, 216 
229, 233, 309, 318-333, 334 

Santa Barbara Channel, 6, 29, 39, 208, 236 

Santa Barbara County, 229 236 

Santa Barbara, Mission of,(founding of), 41 
OI, O11 87,0103s. 104, s1OO,m tl gen loOwl2 256142 
136, 164, 176, 200, 209, 212, 216-228, (dedi- 
cation of church) 220, 229, 230, 236 

Santa Barbara Presidio, 41, 66, 216, 230, 236 
240, 318-319, 331, 348 

Santa Barbara Water Company, 217 

Santa Catalina Island, 6 

Santa Clara, California, 295, 296, 299 

Santa Clara de Asis, Mission of, 39, 67, 76, 87 
229, 275, 276, 288, 289, 295-298 

Santa Clara, University of, 296, 298 

Santa Cruz, 67 

Santa Cruz Island, 76, 220 

Santa Cruz, Mission of, 42, 61, 275-281,(mur- 

der at) 276, (plunder of) 276 

Santa Fé Railway, 126 

Santa Inés, Mission of, (founding of) 47, 103 
104, 179, 209, 229-235, 238, 240 

Santa Inés Mountains, 216 

Santa Inés Valley, 236 

Santa Lucia Mountains, 33, 241 

Santa Maria, Padre Vicente de, 209 

Santa Rosa Island, 76 

Santiago, Padre Juan Norberto, 45, 127, 159 

Sargent’s Station, California, 279 

Sarria, Padre Vicente de, 269, 301, 302 

Schocken, 303 

Schools, Public, 320 

Secularization of the missions, 48-51, 149, 171, 


INDEX 


Secularization of missions, (Cont’d), 172, 226- 
22'7,0234, 240,246,254, 2575) 270s) 205 OO 
301, 316 

Segovia, Spain, 90 

Seguras, Padre Antonio M. Jayme de, 254 

Senan, Padre José, 209 

Serra, Junipero, 19, 21-23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 
33, 34, 36, (confirmation authority questioned) 
39, 40, 41, 57, 114, 116, 117, t2a; ere aeeaoe 
169, 186, 208, 215; 2105 236; 241244 eso 
257, 259, 260, 267, 274, 296, 318 

Serra, Padre Junipero, recommendations re- 
garding California, 34-35 

Seville, Spain, 9, 199 

Sewing-machine, first in California, 316 

Sherman, William Tecumseh, 338-339, 343 

“Sherman Rose-tree House’’, Monterey, 336 
338-339 

Shorb, Dr. J. de Barth, 197, 347 

Sierra Gorda, Missions of, 22, 181 

Simoneau, Jules, 342 

Sinaloa, 35, 41 

Sisters of the Precious Blood, 143 

Sitjar, Padre Buenaventura, 33, 45, 241, 249 

Sloat, Commodore, 335, 343 

Soberanes, Feliciano, 254 

Sola, Pablo Vicente de, 189, 268-269, 270, 276 
335 

Soldiers in California, 64, 66 

Solvang, California, 229 

Somera, Padre José Angel de la, 33, 169 

Sonoma, California, 302, 303, 333 

Sonora, Mexico, 35, 41 

Southern California Historical Society, 149 

Southern Pacific Railway, 229, 251, 295 

Spain, 9, 48, 87, 89, 90, 92, 94, 99, 104, 109, 110 
124, 127, 159, 181, 186,5100se21oue2 cee so 
265, 268, 269, 273, 309, 313, 321, 334, 335 
358 

Spanish atmosphere in California, 153, 169, 181 
192, 342-343 

Spanish-Colonial architecture, 94, 99, 100, 103 
110, 223, 228, 355, 358 

Spreckles, John D., 313 

Statues, saints, at missions, 167, 182, 185, 274 
284, 292 

Stevenson House, Monterey, 342 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 342, 343 

Stock-raising (Mission), 58-59 

Stockton, Commodore, 339 

Stoddard, Charles Warren, 169, 343 

Stones, Building, 75, 78, 81, 94, 113, 155, 160 
172, 216, 220, 260, 273, 289, 299, 330 


INDEX 


Stucco, 76, 141, 147, 172, 322 
Sugert, Chief, 275 

Sunol, Antonio, 302 

Swan, John, 339 

Sycamore, 79, 155, 217 
Syria, 92 


a 
Tapia, Nariano, 292 
Tapis, Padre Estévan, 47, 229, 230, 245, 287 
Tagus River, Spain, 92 
Tarragona, Spain, 89 
Temple, John, 240 
Texas, 18, 19, 22, 41, 104, 109, 110 
Theatre, “first in California’’, 339 
Thompson, Alpheus B., 330 
Tiles, glazed, 100 
Tobosos, 19 
Toledo, Spain, 92, 93 
Toulouse, France, 126 
Trabuco Canon, 155 
Trading-vessels, Yankee, 69, 71, 245, 284, 336 
Traveller (Ship), 76, 220 
Trusses, use of at missions, 82, 83, 84, 151 
Tubac, Arizona, 289 
Tucson, Arizona, 100 
Tule, 79, 155, 241 


U 


Ubach, Father Antonio, 124, 136 

Ubeda, Spain, 199 

Ugarte, Father Juan, 17 

United States Land Courts, 227, 235 

Uria, Padre Francisco J. de, 179, 199, 230, 233 
Urselino, José, 115 


Vi 
Valesco, Viceroy, 6 


Valladolid, Spain, 93 

Valle, Antonio del, 347 

Valle, Ignacio del, 348 

Valle, Senator Reginald F. del, 347 

Valle, Senora Dona Ysabel del, 347, 352 

Vallejo, General M. G., 294, 303, 325 

Vallejo, Guadalupe, 68 

Vallejo, Jesus, 300 

Vancouver, Captain George, 208, 259, 291, 292 
319, 320 


379 


Varela, Senorita Ysabél de, 348 

Vargas, Manuel, bell-founder, 249 

Vaults, use of at missions, 82-87, 171, 175, 185 
262 

Vegetables raised at missions, 58, 209, 295 

Ventura County, 344, 347 

Vera Cruz, Mexico, 22 

Vestments, 165, 185, 234, 284, 298 

Viader, Padre José, 283 

Victorio, Padre Marcos Antonio de, 209 

Viele, 149 

Vila, Vicente, 24, 28 

Visi-Goths, 89, 90, 92 

Viticulture, Mission, 56, 119, 171, 180, 204 
209, 217, 300 

Vitruvius, 223, 224 

Vizcaino, Padre Juan, 25 

Vizcaino, Sebastian, 6, 33, 256, 274, 334 


W 


Wallischeck, Rev. Peter, 143 

Walls, 80, 81, 90, 103, 104, 110, 155, 163, 172 

Warner’s Hot Springs, 144 

Water-power mills in California, 61, 171, I91 
194-198, 217, 276 

Water-supply, 120, 141, 204, 216, 217, 238, 250 
254, 266, 292, 295, 320 

Whales and Whaling in California, 274, 339 

Whaling Station, Monterey, 336, 339 

Wilcox, Captain, 76, 220 

Windows, 110-113, 141, 164, 216, 223, 309, 314 

Wine, 57, 120, 142, 204, 269, 299, 300, 325, 352 

Women in California, 68 

Wood, timbers, 76, 80, r19, 155, 220, 302, 309 
313 


Y: 
Yale College, 342 


Z 


Zacatecas, 143 

Zacatecas, Franciscan College of, 18, 142 

Zalvidea, Padre José Maria de, 87, 142, 171 
180, I9I, 194, 200 

Zanetta House, San Juan, California, 279 

Zuniga, Gaspar de, 6, 334 

Zuniga, José, 188 





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